Affordable EVs under $50,000 have been practically missing from the Australian EV landscape for the last 12 months. Now BYD has started deliveries of their ground-up EVs to local customers and new data reveals that BYD is already in the top three EV brands in Australia for September.
Given this is just the start of their deliveries, what can be expected from the newest car and EV brand in Australia when it comes to increasing EV uptake in the country?
BYD in the top 3 EV brands in September 2022
New data from carloop reveals that BYD has delivered more EVs to customers in the first month than other EV-only brands like Polestar to enter the top 3 EV brands list for September. BYD’s EV deliveries were only behind Tesla and Hyundai for the month.
Data from the eastern state deliveries shows that BYD delivered 186 EVs to customers in the month of September.
That’s a jump of 1591% when compared to August when the brand only delivered 11 EVs in the same 3 eastern states of Australia.
Ramp-up in deliveries BYD EVs expected
Given the number of BYD EV deliveries in the eastern states with their first SUV model, the Atto 3, the rest of the year is looking quite promising.
The majority of the September deliveries occurred from experience centres in Indooroopilly (Qld), Sutherland (NSW) and Dandenong (Vic).
BYD is expected to deliver to all states and territories in October as the opening of more experience centres continues.
New owners have also received an over-the-air software update to now include maps and Spotify which were some of the things that were missing at The Driven’s initial test drive at the end of August.
That’s a feature inspired by Tesla and with BYD’s can be done anywhere there is mobile coverage.
Affordable EVs will accelerate the uptake
With more affordable EVs like the Atto 3 hitting our roads, owners are really enjoying the experience and sharing it with others all across social media. One owner said:
“And the wait is finally over!! Love the colour! Not an ordinary white, which is a bonus without paying the premium price! Overall I am loving the car.”
This is helping many others see that EVs are here and aren’t as out of reach as many ICE owners think they are.
The Toyota Rav4 has thousands of back orders with nearly 2 years of wait time and many models cost more than the BYD Atto 3. Even after getting that car, many owners will end up at the petrol stations filling it with fossil fuels.
The BYD Atto 3 offers a better driving and ownership experience in my opinion than a Toyota Rav4. At least 197 happy new owners in the country have experienced that.
With thousands more deliveries to be made over the coming months, affordable EVs like the BYD Atto 3 will accelerate EV uptake in Australia and reduce transport emissions.
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.