China’s BYD set to make electric cars more affordable

Article by David McCowen via Herald Sun

A new electric car brand has locked in plans for an Australian launch in February, promising to make battery-powered vehicles more affordable than ever.

The team importing China’s BYD, or “Build Your Dreams”, claim to offer “the first electric cars in Australia that will be at price parity to comparable high-quality 
petrol cars”.

That should translate to a sub-$40,000 price for the BYD Yuan Plus electric SUV, a handsome crossover promising around 150kW of power and 500 kilometres of driving range.

It could become the cheapest electric car in Australia, undercutting the MG ZS EV originally priced from $43,990 drive-away.

BYD’s EA1 hatchback is also tipped to arrive for less than $30,000, taking on fresh competition from the likes of GWM’s Ora.

The brand’s Australian outpost has also flirted with a handsome, Tesla-like sedan in the BYD Han.

Full details surrounding the local line-up have not been revealed.

Luke Todd, chief executive of BYD importer EV Direct, says the Chinese giant has invested heavily in Australia-specific production lines for 15,000 vehicles set to be sent here.

That suggests BYD will enjoy strong supply of its models, unlike electric rivals Hyundai and Kia that are struggling to get hold of Ioniq 5 and EV6 electric cars.

“BYD is the biggest global company that most people have never heard of,” Todd says.

“BYD is one of the world’s leading advanced battery manufacturers with a significant proportion of mobile phone companies using BYD batteries.

“This technology, combined with the world’s leading European and global car design teams has now merged into building exciting passenger EVs, and they are now available nationally via our EVDirect.com.au sales platform.”

Todd says BYD has secured $500 million in finance available to customers at low interest rates, with zero deposit upfront.

Customers can order cars directly through the importer, rather than negotiating with conventional third-party dealerships.

An “experience centre” in Sydney’s Darlinghurst will allow customers a chance to get a closer look at cars before buying online.

Originally published as China’s BYD set to make electric cars more affordable