The second-generation Seagull we reported as confirmed for China now has official sketches and a filing with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). It is not a facelift. The car gets longer, gains a fifth seat, and moves its motor to the back.
Affected#
Chinese buyers first. In Europe the Seagull is sold as the Dolphin Surf, from about €22,900, so this is very likely the next Dolphin Surf — but BYD has not said so, and nothing here has a European date.
Confirmed#
From the MIIT filing and BYD’s sketches, as reported:
| Current Seagull | Second generation | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 3,780 mm | 4,205 mm |
| Width × height | — | 1,810 × 1,570 mm |
| Wheelbase | — | 2,650 mm (150 mm longer) |
| Seats | four | five |
| Motor | 55 kW, front | 95 kW (127 hp), rear |
| Top speed | — | 150 km/h |
| Battery chemistry | LFP | LFP |
Also in the filing or the sketches:
- A front trunk, made possible by moving the motor (code TZ164XYB) to the rear axle. Its volume has not been published.
- Multi-link independent rear suspension in place of the current torsion beam.
- 205/60 R16 tyres on 16-inch wheels.
- A floating centre screen and no digital instrument cluster, a two-spoke wheel, wireless phone charging and two cupholders.
- Optional roof LiDAR on one variant, for DiPilot 300 (God’s Eye B).
For scale, the current car sold 529,537 units in 2025 and has passed 1.5 million in total. It is also in decline: CnEVPost puts January–August 2026 sales down 37.5 % on the same period last year.
Unconfirmed#
- Battery size, range, price and launch date. None is in the filing. Electrek expects a Chinese launch by the end of 2026.
- A European version. That it arrives as the next Dolphin Surf, under €30,000, with the second-generation Blade pack and flash charging, is Electrek’s expectation, not a BYD statement.
- Current sales for August. CnEVPost reports 36,106 Seagulls in August 2026; CarNewsChina reports 10,103 for the outgoing model. We have not resolved the difference and do not rely on either.
- Whether the missing instrument cluster reaches Europe. A Chinese interior sketch says nothing about a European homologation.