*Updated* Consumer interest, orders pile up for BYD Atto 3 electric SUV but no guarantee of Australian deliveries in 2022

The BYD Atto 3 in Blue. Images: Evdirect.com.au

Update 21/7/22: Finally, there’s confirmation that the BYD Atto 3 is now approved for sale in Australia, with news website carexpert.com.au confirming the vehicle is now compliant with Australian Design Rules. This is welcome news for customers with deposits for the new EV SUV, but it does confirm our earlier concerns that the Australian importer EV Direct was not in a position to promise July deliveries for this vehicle.

Update 15/7/22: We now have word from customers and media outlets that the BYD Atto 3 is set to arrive in Australia in August or September; a six to eight week delay from the original timeline provided by EV Direct. BYD has also advised customers the circa $44,000 Standard Range variant will not go into production until mid-October, making 2022 deliveries seem unlikely. According to BYD, "This is due to the high-volume production requirements of the extended range option. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Meanwhile, BYD New Zealand importer ATECO has already received its first shipment of customer and demonstrator vehicles ahead of Australia, and captured the importation deal for the Kiwi market from EV Direct. The first lucky customers should get their hands on this new crossover within the next couple of weeks.

Update 4/7/22: The Driven is reporting BYD Atto 3 test drives and deliveries have been delayed, and pushed back 6-8 weeks. Customers with deposits on the electric SUV received the following email from EV Direct last Friday:

“It is well publicised that the global automotive industry as a whole is under pressure from a range of supply chain issues and logistics disruptions. While BYD’s model provides robust protection from many of these challenges, regrettably we have been impacted by the current holistic industry conditions. Despite our best efforts to minimise the impact on our customers, test drives and initial deliveries will be pushed back by approximately 6 to 8 weeks.”

It’s worth noting that the company blames external factors for the delay, and doesn’t cite any issues with the homologation process as we reported last week. We’re not suggesting that BYD isn’t facing delays due to pandemic supply chain problems — most manufacturers are — but it’s a handy excuse.

EV Direct has promised that production of right and drive vehicles for Australia has commenced, and that August is the new target for arrivals: “…production of Australian BYD ATTO 3’s has commenced and we have secured increased dedicated production capacity to enable a steady supply of vehicles into the Australian market commencing from August 2022.”

For us, we’ll start to get excited when the first shipment is physically on water. We hope the company can continue to provide accurate delivery times to customers.

You can read our original article below.

The BYD Atto 3 has attracted a lot of interest and “thousands” of orders in Australia thanks to it’s sharp pricing and inclusions, and of course due to new vehicle stock shortages in the country at the moment. Priced from $44,381 for the standard range and $47,381 for the extended range models, the BYD brand has attracted plenty of praise for its designs penned by former Audi chief designer Wolfgang Egger, and for its perceived value proposition.

Sold exclusively online through local importer Nexport’s subsidiary EVDirect.com.au, customers are asked for a fully refundable deposit of $1,000 to secure their place in the queue. The company’s website suggests a delivery date of September 2022 for orders placed today; this follows initial reports from EV Direct listing July 2022 as the arrival date for the Atto 3.

BYD’s online configurator quotes delivery dates from September.

BYD Atto 3 as-yet lacking Australian homologation

One concerning aspect of this timeline to our eyes is that BYD’s Atto 3 is yet to be homologated for the Australian market; that is, EV Direct are currently taking orders for a vehicle that does not currently hold approval under Australian Design Rules (ADRs). According to the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, ADRs “are national standards for vehicle safety, anti-theft and emissions. The ADRs are generally performance based and cover issues such as occupant protection, structures, lighting, noise, engine exhaust emissions, braking and a range of miscellaneous items.” Without this approval, vehicles cannot be imported, let alone registered for use on public roads.

By conducting a public search on The Department’s Road Vehicle Regulator webiste, we can see that the only currently valid approval for BYD vehicles is for the T3 commercial van:

BYD’s Atto 3 does not currently hold ADR certification in Australia

For comparison’s sake, the as-yet-unreleased Mercedes-Benz EQS already has full Australian ADR compliance, dated from 26/04/2022. Tesla’s just-released Model Y was complied in October 2021. Is this down to slow government processing of forms, or did BYD/Nexport drop the ball with the application process? Regardless of who is to blame, this lack of compliance certification would — in our eyes — suggest that an importation date and customer delivery date less than three months away is very likely to be pushed back into late-2022 or even 2023.

Future EVs like the Mercedes-Benz EQS already have ADR compliance

Furthermore, the BYD Atto 3 also remains untested when it comes to Australia’s New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) — as reported by drive.com.au — despite claims of a five star ANCAP safety rating by the company. In a statement to Drive, ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said: "Until [we] independently test and assess specific models or variants, and officially publish a rating, it is not possible for a vehicle manufacturer or distributor to claim that a particular star rating will be awarded.”

New models in Australia often go on sale without ANCAP safety ratings, but are listed as “un-rated”, until such time as a crash test can be completed.

EV Brief’s take on the BYD Atto 3 situation

So what’s the deal for those who have already put down their hard-earned on BYD’s affordable electric crossover? Based on our research — and we hope to be proven wrong — we believe there’s a very slim chance that Nexport will be able to actually follow through with the approvals process, and commence imports and deliveries in Australia by the claimed date of September 2022.

Sure, brands like Tesla, Polestar and Hyundai/Kia have had to revise customer delivery dates for their respective electric models, with most order holders now facing the prospect of waiting until at least 2023 to get into their new EVs due to manufacturing, supply-chain and pandemic-related delays, but all of these vehicles currently hold ADR approval in Australia. In fact, New Zealand is likely to see the BYD Atto 3 before Australia does. It’s simplified vehicle certification process is the result of design rules which align with international standards.

We’ve reached out to BYD importer Nexport for comment, and will update this article if we receive a response.

BYD Atto 3 (Yuan Plus) launches in Australia from $44,990 driveaway, deliveries from July

BYD’s Atto 3 will reach Australian customer’s hands from July 2022.

• Priced from $44,990 Driveaway, available in Standard Range and Extended Range variants

• Standard Range - 50.1 kWh Blade Battery with 320 km (WLTP) range

• Extended Range - 60.4 kWh Blade Battery with 420 km (WLTP) range

• 150kW/310Nm front-mounted motor, front wheel drive platform

• 80kW maximum DC charge rate, with 90 minute charge time

What is the BYD Atto 3?

The Atto 3 (Yuan Plus in China) is the first volume passenger model in right hand drive to be imported by Nexport, and has been priced to compete with MG’s ZS EV head on. Sharing the MG’s $44,990 driveaway pricing — in Tasmania only mind you — the Atto 3 actually costs more than that headline figure in New South Wales $47,110 driveaway), South Australia ($46,700 driveaway) and most other states and territories, though various EV incentives should bring that price down by around $2,000-$3,000 Australian dollars.

While we’ve seen Nexport use the BYD Han sedan and Tang large SUV for promotional purposes as the brand launched in Australia last year, we’ve always had an inkling that BYD’s local launch headliner would be a compact SUV. With eight of Australia’s top ten-selling vehicles in January 2022 offering an elevated ride height, this segment of the market is where the sales are (like it or not fellow wagon fans).

Which models will make it to Australia?

Two models will be available at launch, a Standard Range variant with a 50.1 kWh battery and 320km range, and an Extended Range variant with a 60.4 kWh battery and 420km range. It was hoped that an 800 volt electrical architecture would be standard on the Atto 3 as part of the brand's next-generation offering, but it appears that hasn't made the cut for budget reasons. BYD claims a maximum DC charging rate of 80kW, taking a leisurely 90 minutes to fill the Blade Battery (though the company hasn't stated whether that is for a 0-100 percent charge, or for a 10-80% charge). AC charging is available, with support for 3-phase charging capability.

The front-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor drives the front wheels, and offers 150kW of power and 310Nm of torque. While BYD hasn't confirmed the weight of the models arriving in Australia (we expect it to be around 1,500-1,600kg), the company quotes a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 7.3 seconds, 1.2 seconds faster than the current generation MG ZS EV.

BYD Atto 3 design and interior

The Atto 3's exterior is a pleasing if restrained SUV design. Chinese automakers from BYD to Great Wall Motors, Nio and Xpeng now understand that consumers - domestically and abroad - crave design and perceived quality over straight-out value, and the BYD Atto 3 designed by Wolfgang Egger (of Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione fame) is a far cry from what many western consumers think of when you say "Chinese car". Sure, the slim LED headlamps, faux, muscular air intakes, sharp hip-line, textured C-pillar and wraparound tail lights seem to be common EV styling tropes of the 2020s, but the overall look of BYD's "Dragon Face" design language is clean, cohesive, and contemporary; its one of the nicest looking compact SUVs on the market. We're still not sure of that naff "Build Your Dreams" lettering on the rear hatch though.

Music and fitness were the inspiration behind this cockpit.

Over to the inside, and...yeah. It's not to our tastes, with BYD citing design influences from "fitness and music". To us, that should translate as a strong, high-quality cabin, and a high-end audio system, but BYD's interior designs are trying to appeal to the youth of today, not your grandpa looking to trade in his circa-2000s Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Interior door grips look like fitness equipment, and the HVAC system has odd rotating wheels (they remind us of a Boeing 737's trim wheels) that are meant to take inspiration from dumbbells. There are elastic ropes to secure items in the door bins (like XXX) which BYD says are inspired by guitar strings. Yes, they make a noise when "plucked", and yes, those of us with toddlers will never, ever buy this car for that reason.

There's a mix of shapes and textures inside, many of them appearing to be quite soft to the touch. Standard equipment includes a panoramic sunroof that electrically slides, power tailgate, 12.8-inch rotating central infotainment screen, 5-inch digital driver's info display, wireless phone charging, keyless entry and start, digital radio, electric seats, DAB digital radio and Bluetooth with audio streaming. Oh, and there's in car karaoke, and a guitar controller. There's a full complement of active and passive safety systems, from Intelligent Cruise Control, Hill Descent Control and Lane Departure Warning, to front and rear collision warning and rear cross-traffic alert.

Size and packaging of the BYD Atto 3

The size of the Atto 3 is on par with Hyundai's Kona Electric and Kia's Niro EV. there's a wheelbase of 2,720mm, and an overall length of 4,455mm. We'll have to wait and see what this actually means for passengers and their luggage, and whether a front boot is included, but expect the Atto 3 to be able to handle a large suitcase and a couple of carry-ons in the rear, and there's likely to be a similar amount of space to the aforementioned Koreans. BYD has yet to provide any figures for luggage capacity.

What do we think? We'll have to wait to drive it of course, but our mantra is greater choice in the market (especially at the cheaper end) is unquestionably a great thing. BYD's (and Nexport's) greatest challenge will not necessarily be convincing customers that the Atto 3 suits their needs, rather that customers can trust the brand to provide a high level of customer service right throughout the buying process and ownership period, and secure enough vehicle stock in a timely manner.