BYD says it is on track to sell 100,000 “new energy” vehicles in Australia in its first five years in the market, as it rolls out more battery electric offerings and prepares to introduce a plug in hybrid ute to its portfolio.
According to data revealed this week, the BYD has delivered 25,885 cars in Australia since entering the market in the second half of 2022, with the majority being pure electric models such as the Atto 3, Seal and the Dolphin vehicles, and more than 1,000 Sealion 6 plu in hybrids over the last two months.
The target of 100,000 vehicles in five years means that BYD will need to sell 25,000 new energy cars in each of the remaining 3 years, which will draw it closer to market leader Tesla.
BYD aims to introduce multiple new models in the Australian market. This includes the upcoming Shark PHEV ute and another undisclosed model.
Looking at the cars the company is testing locally, it’s likely to be the all-electric midsized SUV, the Sealion 7.
Last week both the Shark and the Sealion 7 were spotted testing in NSW, hinting at what is to come from Australia’s second best-selling EV brand in the country.
“As our range expands, we’ve always believed BYD would quickly grow in popularity among Australian drivers,” said David Smitherman, the head of EVDirect, BYD’s local distributor.
“We’re not afraid to set ambitious goals because we know Australians are looking for quality new energy vehicles at competitive price points, which BYD offers.”
In 2023, BYD saw 12,438 sales for the entire year. During 2024 so far, the brand accounted for 11,334 in the first 7 months of the year.
The growth in the coming years is likely to include not only new model launches but also expansion of its experience centres.
Earlier in the year, the company set an ambitious target to also have dozens of new experience centres across the country.
Its latest centre located in Cremorne, Melbourne has now also opened, helping drive more inner city traffic to the brand.
See The Driven’s data on month by month sales for all EVs in Australia.
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.
Add the Sealion PhEV sales to June and July and both are up months for EV’s
And both are down months for EVs without an ICE.
“New energy” is code for EV PLUS Hybrid
The Sealion 7 is very desirable for this market. It’s very close to the Tesla MY. Everything depends on Tesla getting the MY Refresh (Juniper) to market soon, and whether or not the new MY has better tech than the Chinese offerings, for instance a new battery with much more range. Just having a lightbar on the rear of the car won’t cut it!
Tesla needs to raise it’s game – a two model lineup isn’t going to cut it against BYD.
At least they are both BEVs. Sealion 6 (hybrid) contains a petrol engine and is only comparable to other hybrids, not BEVs.
Sealion 7 is a BEV
I’d love to see an all-paw version of the Atto 3 – without going nuts on power and charging a fortune. Just trading off a bit of range/efficiency for traction and flexibility. If they were very smart they’d make the AWD selectable but default to FWD for the highway, limiting the trade-off.
Anything containing a stink engine should never be counted as New Energy. Is just BS.
People should inform themselves very well before signing up on the hybrid trap.
I’m very sad everytime someone, with a big “pat me on the head for being such a clever and virtuous person” look on their face, tells me that they’ve done the right thing and bought a hybrid!
If they stop putting petrol/diesel in it, it will stop. It’s an ICE, with extra bits to carry around, maintain, and pay for.
“Hybrid” is greenwashing at its worst.
They have slightly better l/100k than conventional ICE, but not a lot. Had a Camry hybrid prior to Atto3
“… slightly better l/100…”
It’s a bit like someone telling you they used to be an axe-murderer, but now they just rape children.
And expecting you to tell them how wonderful they now are.
Hybrids are ICE. Period.
That explains why Toyota sell more hybrids than any one else
Hybrids are more prone to fires. Always tell people that to stop them buying the damned things.
Comparing the sales of BYD to Tesla is irrelevant as the latter only sells BEVs.
Including BYD hybrids into the sales figures is misleading.