New images of the BYD’s planned electric ute have come to the surface on social media platform, Weibo, revealing some early details on its outside and interior.
The arrival of the BYD ute in Australia was flagged earlier this month as BYD launched its third electric car in the Australian market, the Seal electric sedan that follows the Atto 3 electric SUV and the Dolphin, with a sub-$40,000 variant.
BYD’s distributor in Australia EV Direct confirmed that by the end of 2024, BYD will have five offerings in the country, including the much sought-after ute.
“I was in China with the designers last week and our own engineering team have been up there for a month or two,” EV Direct CEO Luke Todd said. “I can tell you that this vehicle is being designed so well to be suitable for the Australian market and that’s why we’re making the claims that we believe it will be best in class when it comes out.”
The new images show that vehicle, it’s covered in camouflage, but the charge port appears to be on the rear right-hand side of the vehicle.
The wheels have dark hubcaps on them which conceals any alloy wheels that may sit under them. Given this ute appears to be tailored towards the lifestyle segment, it’s likely to have alloy wheels to make it appealing to a broader customer base.
The images show a steering wheel that bears some resemblance to the design of the updated Model 3’s steering wheel, obviously with the stalks still present in the BYD’s design. There is also the BYD logo seen on the steering wheel.
Behind the steering wheel, there is the stalk we mentioned earlier along with a landscape screen. This screen appears to be larger than that found on the Atto 3 electric SUV and about the same size as that seen in the upcoming sports sedan, the Seal.
On one side of the screen, vertically oriented air vents with red accents are spotted. These are also seen towards the passenger door.
In the centre console area, BYD’s smaller gear selector found on the Seal is available. There are also some well-thought-out grab handles on either side of the gear selector, making it easier for the driver and passenger to hold onto something if odd-roading on uneven terrain.
From the passenger side, a larger infotainment screen is spotted in the landscape orientation. Underneath the screen, more air vents are spotted to further help with air circulation around the frontal cabin.
The view from the passenger side helps with identifying another stalk on the steering wheel for other vehicle controls.
All in all, these photos reveal more about the ute than that spotted in patent documents spotted earlier this month. It also shows progress on BYD’s ute program.
Given the high-volume ute market in Australia, an electric ute can’t come quickly enough. We will keep an eye out for any more details as it gets closer to the local launch in the second half of 2024.
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.