Chinese car giant BYD is inviting expressions of interest in the new upgraded version of the Atto 3, its first electric car in Australia that helped create the platform for the company to challenge industry giants Tesla and Toyota.
The new Atto 3, to be known as the Atto 3 Eco, will feature faster charging, a more powerful motor and a new drivetrain – a significant upgrade from the original Atto 3, which had a major impact on the Australian EV market when it was first released in 2022.
In an email sent to customers this week, BYD Australia says: “Coming Soon – Meet the New ATTO 3 Evo. The next chapter of Australia’s award-winning electric compact SUV is almost here. Register your interest today to receive exclusive updates before public release.”
In the same email, several key improvements are listed over the current model, including faster charging, enhanced tech and a more premium cabin.
According to documentation approved in Australia earlier this year, the upgraded Atto 3 will be available in either Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) or All Wheel Drive (AWD) configurations.
The new variants of the Atto 3 will come with either 230 kW of power on the RWD or 330 kW of power on the AWD top-spec model.
These are up from the 150 kW power in the current front wheel drive version. Information on the battery wasn’t revealed in that approval documentation, but we expect it to be a BYD blade battery with potentially faster charging speed than that it the current car.
Like all the current models, the upgraded Atto 3 will feature Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capabilities. The car is 4.4 metres long, with a height of just over 1.6 metres.
The RWD variant weighs 1,880 kg and can tow up to 750 kg, while the AWD version has a weight of over 1,990 kg, with braked towing capacity limited to 750 kg as well.
More details on the upgraded BYD Atto 3, including key local specifications and pricing, are likely to be announced later this year.
At this stage, though, we expect the starting price of this model to be closer to $45,000, given the current version with less power starts at under $40,000.
BYD has expanded rapidly in the Australian market since launching the Atto 3 in 2022, which at the time was the most affordable ground-up electric SUVs on sale.
The company had forecast around 40,000 local deliveries in 2025 but exceeded that target by a wide margin, selling well over 50,000 vehicles for the year.
In the first 6 months on 2026, the brand has sold almost as many cars as it did during the whole previous year, coming in at over 52,000 sales, and in June fell just short of topping Toyota as the biggest seller of cars in Australia. It has already outstripped Tesla as the biggest seller of EVs in the country.
You can find The Driven’s detailed EV sales data here: Australian electric vehicle sales by month in 2026; by model and by brand.
And for a full rundown of all available EV models in Australia, please go to our Compare EVs page here.
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