- BYD Ocean M hot hatch revealed at Beijing Auto Show
- Hatchback design makes European availability look realistic
- Production car coming this summer to rival MG4 and VW ID.3
BYD already has fingers in lots of pies, and with the debut of the Ocean M hot hatch concept in China, it’s confirmed plans to keep yet another digit warm.
The Ocean M previews an electric hatchback that’s set to be launched in production form in China in late summer of this year. The car we’ll see then probably won’t look anything as wild as this week’s Beijing Auto Show concept does, but strip away the giant splitter, huge sill extensions, high-rise rear spoiler, and GT3-style diffuser, and you’re looking at the Corolla-sized car BYD will put into battle with the likes of the MG4.
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And even without all the garish aero mods, the Ocean M will turn heads. The front end has echoes of the Lamborghini Aventador, as unlikely as that sounds, and the rising waistline and narrow rear window give the car a very dynamic look. The camera-based door mirrors might not make it to production, or at least not on low-spec models, but the flush door handles keep the flanks clean and modern.
The Ocean M will sit between the Dolphin and Seal in BYD’s lineup, and the firm says it will be built around a new electric architecture. Car News China claims the production car will spawn a hot hatch model that will be unique in having rear-wheel drive.
Sending its power only to the rear wheels, as VW’s low-spec ID.3 does, but the sporty bi-motor GTX does not, might make the Ocean M hot hatch fun to drive, but would also suggest that BYD is targeting fairly low power levels. Right now it isn’t saying what those power outputs might be, or in fact revealing much at all about what’s under the skin.
BYD reps told Car News China that the production car will cost between ¥150,000-200,000 ($20,700-27,600) range. That sounds like good value though there’s no chance of the Ocean making it to the U.S. any time soon. But the fact that it’s a hatchback would suggest that BYD has plans to bring the Ocean to Europe, even if it hasn’t said as much.
