BYD Australia and its Australian distributor EV Direct have lowered their servicing costs by 23% after receiving feedback – and a major backlash on social media – from existing order holders.
On top of that, existing order holders will receive free 12-months of servicing. The new offer was sent to existing customers in an email by EV Direct on Wednesday afternoon, and is good news for many BYD Atto 3 order holders who over a week ago discovered the servicing costs and schedule for their upcoming EV.
Under the updated service pricing schedule, the 8-year servicing cost has been reduced by 23%. The old pricing was $3,090 over 8 years while the new servicing cost covering the same period is $2,390.
That’s a reduction of $700 over the duration of the servicing schedule.
Free servicing offered to existing customers
EV Direct has stated in the email that they have listened to customer feedback on the initial servicing price and warranty and are now offering the first year’s servicing free of charge to existing customers.
The free servicing will be offered in the form of a certificate on delivery of the new vehicle which can be redeemed at all BYD automotive-approved service partners including Eager Automotive and mycar stores.
Two EV servicing options now on offer to Atto 3 customers
There are also details of two servicing options for customers depending on the distance travelled.
In the email, customers have been notified of these two options with the first option for those travelling a distance of up to 20,000 km or more per annum. They will now be paying on average paying $299 per year over 8 years.
The second option is offered to those travelling lower distances and covering around 60,000 km over 5 years. They would on average be paying $189 per year over these 5 years.
Servicing cost reduction a welcoming move
After reports on social media of some customers cancelling orders on the back of the initial servicing and warranty news last week, it’s good to see BYD and EV Direct listening to customers who have put faith in the new brand before getting to test-drive the Atto 3 EV.
The offering of free first-year service would be welcomed by many of those order holders who are patiently waiting to get behind the wheel of their first ground-up EV.
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.