Last week I wrote about BYD’s ramp-up allocation for some Australian customers. This was after an email notifying customers that their deliveries had been delayed by 6-8 weeks. New data over the weekend shows the ramp-up in BYD Atto 3 (Yuan Plus) production as the ground-up EVs production sales reach a new high.
Today, I look at what this means for the local order holders and why this car is an important piece in the jigsaw for Australian EV uptake.
But first: Pricing in China has now been revealed, hinting at possible local pricing.
BYD Seal prices revealed
BYD’s highly anticipated all-electric sedan known as the BYD Seal has now had its price revealed. This is after its successful launch in May 2022 when BYD received 22,637 orders in a few hours.
It has now been revealed that it will launch in China with a starting price of $31,860 USD according to CNEVPost.
This roughly converts to $A46,500 at the time of writing. If this car is expected to be launched into the right-hand drive markets like Australia, shipping and distribution costs would also need to be added to that price which could bring the starting price to over $A50,000.
Even at that price point, there are currently no other ground-up EV sedans available in our local market. This would also make the BYD Seal eligible for many subsidies on offer across various states and territories.
BYD Atto 3 sales up by nearly 44% in June 2022
New data compiled from CPCA (Chinese Passenger Car Association) and company reports show an increase of nearly 5,000 Yuan Plus EVs in the month of June over May 2022. This is an increase of 43.9% over the month of May.
It’s also worth noting that since January, the Atto 3 production has increased by 728%, which is despite lockdowns impacting supply chains across China. This alone shows the key strength BYD has over other EV makers with having internal supply chains for key components like the blade batteries used across many of their EVs.
This is good news for local customers who have been notified of delayed deliveries. It shows that BYD’s production and sales ramp-up is well underway and once the first batch of the BYD Atto3 EVs arrives in Australia, supply is expected to only improve if these trends continue.
BYD achieved another high in June 2022
As The Driven reported last Monday, BYD’s production hit an all-time high in June with increases. This was a 224% increase in year-on-year sales. Monthly sales grew by over 16% in June when compared to May.
This shows a continued ramp-up in sales and deliveries for BYD as they prepare to deliver ground-up EVs internationally. This includes Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Affordable EVs couldn’t come sooner
As the price of fuel remains very high across the country, the recent delays in deliveries of EVs into our market haven’t been easy for thousands of order holders looking at making the switch.
BYD’s launch and first deliveries are an important step towards bringing affordable EVs into Australia sooner to meet the growing demands for EVs.
The ramp-up in production in June can only provide a positive hint to the thousands waiting for the first deliveries in Australia and across the ditch in New Zealand.
The next three months are looking very promising for the launch of these affordable models, like the BYD Atto 3 and the new MG ZS EV.
More people will be able to get behind the wheel of their first EV and help spread the word about their benefits to many others. All these steps will help us towards decarbonising transport.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.