BYD second only to Tesla in Oz

After months of waiting, BYD car deliveries have started.  From Drive

Newly-launched Chinese car maker BYD has accounted for one in five electric vehicles sold in its first three months of deliveries, second only to Tesla, its first batch of sales data has revealed.

VFACTS industry sales data released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) lists 845 BYD electric vehicles reported as sold in its first three months of deliveries.

This is believed to place BYD – which currently only offers one model, the Atto 3 small SUV – as Australia’s second-best selling electric-car brand, ahead of the likes of MG, Hyundai and Polestar, and behind only Tesla.

The BYD Atto 3 is believed to place third or fourth on the leaderboard for the best-selling electric-car models, behind the Tesla Model Y (1805) and Model 3 (391), and the MG ZS EV (exact sales figures are unconfirmed, however the tally is estimated to be fewer than 700 over the same period).

The sales result is despite a stop-delivery notice in force for three weeks from October 21 to November 11, as BYD’s local distributor EVDirect worked through concerns with federal regulators over the Atto 3's compliance with Australian motor vehicle regulations.

The notice was issued after the child-seat top tether point for the centre rear seat was found to be hidden below the carpet, breaching compliance rules for five-seat passenger cars including the Atto 3, which require these tether points to be accessible without the use of tools.

Compliance concerns were also raised with the ISOFIX child-seat mounting points on the front passenger seats, as it is illegal for child-seat restraints to be fitted in the front seat of passenger cars in Australia. The distributor says these ISOFIX points have been “disengaged”.

BYD and its local distributor EVDirect claimed it planned to provide its sales data for the FCAI’s monthly VFACTS sales reports for September and October, but missed both deadlines.

With three months of BYD deliveries combined, VFACTS data lists 4457 electric vehicles as sold (referring to deliveries, not orders placed) in November, up 685 per cent compared to the same month last year.

With Tesla’s sales data excluded – as it did not report sales to VFACTS this time last year either – the growth percentage drops to 298 per cent.

Tesla remained atop the electric-car sales charts last month, reporting 2196 vehicles – or half of all electric-car deliveries – across 391 Model 3 sedans and 1805 Model Y SUVs.

This represents a ramp-up in deliveries, after only 1109 Tesla vehicles were reported as sold in October – down from its record result of 5969 in September, and 3397 in August.

Since 1st July, as a result of changes to tax regulations enacted by Labor, the price of an EV/PHEV is reduced by your marginal tax rate.  So the BYD ATTO, already the cheapest EV at A$44,000 would fall by 32.5%  for most people,  to about A$30,000.   There are only a few new petrol cars cheaper than that.  Since the BYD is a lot cheaper than the Tesla Model 3, and about the same price as smaller petrol cars, sales are likely to continue to explode.