BYD Atto 3 prices up 8 percent
One of Australia’s cheapest EVs is now more expensive.
The BYD Atto 3 has had a price rise that makes it about 8 percent more expensive than the prices it launched at earlier this year.
Both the Atto 3 Standard Range and Atto 3 Extended range are now $3630 more expensive than they were yesterday.
That amounts to an 8.1 per cent increase on the Standard battery and a 7.7 per cent on the Extended.
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It makes the Atto 3 $48,011.35 for the Standard range and $51,011.35 for the Extended range, each before on-road costs.
“The cost of raw materials has increased significantly, lithium and various other components that make up electric vehicles,” says EV Direct managing director Luke Todd.
There’s between $600 and $3800 in on-road costs on top of those prices.
Those on-road costs vary enormously depending on what state or territory you live in.
In NSW and Tasmania, for example, there is no stamp duty on the Atto 3, which makes registration costs about $1100 and $600 respectively.
But in Victoria and Western Australia there’s a big hit of stamp duty, taking those on-road fees to about $3000 and $3800 respectively.
However, the Atto 3 is eligible for EV rebates in most parts of the country, typically $3000.
It takes the Atto 3 further away from the MG ZS EV, which is currently the cheapest electric vehicle in the country, at $44,990 drive-away.
There’s no detail as to why the Atto 3 prices have increased.
However, BYD emailed those with an order in the system to clarify the price rise would not be applying to them.
The email said: “As an existing order holder your vehicle price will remain the same and the price increase will not apply to your order.”
The Atto 3 has been a surprise success in the EV market with a growing online following.
The BYD brand is huge in China and until 2019 was the most prolific EV manufacturer globally; it now rivals Tesla globally for outright EV sales.
However, many users in online forums have expressed frustration with the local distribution of the vehicles, which is handled by EVdirect.com.au
There are many stories of delays and issues and a general lack of communication.
BYD sales seem strong though. The brand only began officially reporting deliveries of the Atto 3 in November. The figures published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show 845 were sold, although some of those could have been as far back as August, when customers first started taking delivery of their vehicles.
Still, that gave BYD 19 percent of the EV market in November (4457 in total, 2196 of which were Tesla), which isn’t bad for a brand most Aussies still haven’t heard of.
