BYD’s ambitious goal to overtake Tesla’s sales in Australia

China’s BYD wants its income Down Under to person accrued four-fold by the extremity of adjacent year, which would spot it eclipse Tesla’s existent volumes and go 1 of the apical 10 car brands successful Australia.

David Smitherman, CEO for BYD’s section distributor EVDirect, told CarExpert of the company’s ambitious income and measurement aspirations successful the Australian market.

It’s aiming for 100 per cent maturation successful 2024, past 100 per cent again successful 2025.

In 2023 BYD sold 12,438 caller vehicles – 11,042 Atto 3 SUVs, 925 Dolphin hatchbacks, and 471 Seal sedans. Currently, each BYD models sold successful Australia are battery-electric vehicles.

With these increases, BYD is truthful targeting astir 50,000 income successful 2025.

For reference, Tesla sold 46,116 vehicles successful Australia successful 2023.

“As a brand, we volition turn arsenic we connection much product. We’re a product-led business, and the mode this concern is increasing to turn is by offering much merchandise successful different segments radical want,” Mr Smitherman said.

Mr Smitherman said astatine a media presumption precocious that BYD has plans to motorboat caller vehicles successful 2024, 2025 and 2026 to substance this maturation forecast – a cardinal 1 being the upcoming Shark plug-in hybrid ute, understood to beryllium earmarked for an Australian marketplace motorboat aboriginal this twelvemonth oregon aboriginal successful 2025.

BYD’s section distributor has besides antecedently confirmed the Sealion 6 plug-in hybrid SUV (known elsewhere arsenic the Seal U) is owed for an Australian motorboat successful the 2nd 4th of 2024.

An earlier Australian Government filing confirmed 2 variants: Dynamic and Premium. According to the support documents, the Dynamic volition diagnostic a 72kW internal-combustion motor and a 145kW front-mounted electrical motor, for a full strategy output of 160kW.

The Premium volition diagnostic a 96kW internal-combustion engine, a 150kW beforehand electrical centrifugal and a 120kW rear electrical motor, for a full strategy output of 238kW.

These documents don’t item each the Sealion 6’s specifications, but we cognize globally it volition connection a prime of 18.3kWh and 26.6kWh batteries, offering betwixt 110km and 150km of scope nether the much lenient NEDC cycle.

Further details are expected to beryllium announced astatine an lawsuit successful Melbourne connected May 16, which CarExpert will beryllium attending. According to the invitation, BYD volition beryllium launching its “Super-Hybrid” exertion – the brand’s plug-in hybrid branding.

An electrical mentation of the SUV is besides acceptable to beryllium released successful Europe this year, which quotes up to 500 kilometres of driving scope connected the WLTP rhythm from its 87kWh LFP artillery pack.

Neither BYD nor its section distributor person confirmed if oregon erstwhile the Seal U EV mightiness marque it to section showrooms, though it’s understood to beryllium connected the privation database to beryllium supra the Atto 3 and service arsenic a due Tesla Model Y competitor.

Stay tuned to CarExpert for each the latest.

MORE: 2024 BYD Seal U – Plug-in hybrid Outlander rival nearing Australian launch
MORE: Everything BYD