After a number of delays, new Chinese electric car brand BYD’s first shipment of mass-produced cars for Australia has docked, ready for customer deliveries.
The first customer examples of the 2022 BYD Atto 3 electric SUV have arrived in Australia ahead of customer deliveries in the coming weeks.
Celebrating via social media the arrival of the first shipment, BYD’s local distributor EVDirect says customers will be contacted when their Atto 3 is in Australia “to begin the purchase and delivery process”.
“There’s been a lot of press this week about why Australia is so far behind in electric vehicle adoption,” said EVDirect managing director and CEO Luke Todd in a social media post, referencing a recent confidential industry report on electric cars, obtained by Drive and The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Whilst others have been debating and waiting, EVDirect and BYD have been getting on with the job of building high quality affordable EVs for Australian families, and I’m proud to say the first truckloads of BYD Atto 3s are now rolling out across Brisbane and shortly thousands more across the country.”
EVDirect has previously indicated it has received more than 4000 orders for the Atto 3 since the car became available in February – and that it has access to production of up to 3000 cars a month from BYD’s factory in China.
Prices for the Atto 3 start from $44,381 plus on-road costs – or from $44,990 drive-away, if you live in Tasmania (which has greater on-road cost concessions than other states). Orders placed today could see delivery before the end of the year.
The first BYD Atto 3 SUVs to arrive are Extended Range models – which have accounted for more than 90 per cent of orders – with the cheaper Standard Range variant to follow later this year.
EVDirect says the Atto 3 will be followed by two more models – the smaller Dolphin (or, possibly, Atto 2) hatchback, and larger Seal (or potentially Atto 4) sedan – slated to open for orders before the end of 2022, ahead of deliveries commencing in 2023.
BYD cars will be sold and serviced in Australia through a network of 12 showrooms – spread across all states and territories except the NT – operated by dealer group Eagers Automotive.
EVDirect first expressed plans to distribute BYD vehicles in Australia in early 2021, with a planned wide-scale launch towards the end of that year.
However, delays saw the company sell only about 60 vehicles in Australia in 2021 – a previous-generation people mover and van – with orders for BYD’s first mass-produced Australian model not opening until February 2022, and deliveries this month (August 2022).
To read more about BYD’s launch in Australia, click the links below.
MORE: China’s BYD announces radical plan to sell 9000 electric cars per month in Australia next year
MORE: BYD plans five electric models for Australia, ute and larger SUV on the cards
MORE: BYD showroom locations announced for Australia
MORE: 2022 BYD Atto 3 Standard Range delayed further
MORE: 2022 BYD Atto 3 deliveries delayed by up to two months
MORE: 2022 BYD Atto 3 video review: Australian first drive
MORE: 2022 BYD Atto 3 price and specs
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