BYD EV

We’re looking at getting an EV and just had a long chat to someone has a BYD . To say he was enthusiastic about it is an understatement .

Hadn’t heard of them myself , but the fact that Warren Buffet has a large investment strengthened my interest .

Also Tesla are using BYD batteries in some cars and Google shows that Toyota ( who were late to the game re EV’s ) are using BYD batteries and powertrain in a least one model confirms they have serious technology .

Looking at old PC posts someone suggested they will be the new Toyota ..

So great batteries but do they make a great car at this stage ?

Reviews are interesting and positive .

Anyone here have personal experience or insights .

cheers

cliff

 

My thoughts are if you want to save money by buying a new EV it's a false economy as you could buy a second hand car for cheaper.

If you want an EV to save the world then I'd suggest you to look up how colbolt is mined, or how much copper is required for their production. Also don't forget the mining involved that's generated massively by coal fired plants. Yes ICE vehicles are horrible for the environment, but despite what many think EVs are not as green as most seem to believe.

If you wanted it because you want a new car with fancy tech then there's better options out there in that segment that are not going to depreciate horrendously like Chinese made cars typically do.

 

I never heard of them until this week - one friend just ordered one and another is wanting to get one. Apparently there's a fair few of them at the Brisbane airport ready to go (not sure if that's a sign of the times) - my friend purchased last week and is picking up later this week.

Cheers

Jamie

 

I keep reading BYD as BYO

For what it's worth, someone I know had a new Great Wall SUV. Went for a drive with it. It rolled over while she was driving on a straight country road and I could see no reason why it would have rolled over.

She had her mother and disabled teenage daughter (non verbal, mental and physical disabilities) in the car with her when it rolled. I feel it was a really terrible situation.

So, call it prejudice if you will, but I want to see a safety history over a few years of the brand before buying.

 

All the taxis in the city of Shenzhen in China, almost 22000 vehicles, are BYD. All EV. I figured that if taxis were using them, they would be at least robust?

 

I reckon the BYD Atto 3 is probably the best all around EV for the price currently available in Aus. I'm a big fan and I know quite a few friends that have them on order under a novated lease arrangement.

 

BYD is a huge brand in China.
You see that brand BYD cars everywhere last time I was in China.
They are the Toyota of China. They are everywhere and readily available.

 

We should ask BYD to import something like this…

BYD HAN: Sleek and sporty sedan | BYD Europe

 

Yes that looks so nice.
Unfortunately the market isn't big enough to bring something prestige high end car to here.
Australian don't associate BYD as premium brand and won't pay the asking price.

 

We have one and really liked it. Bought it by accident as was looking for an EV and this one had the shortest waiting list.

If feels like driving a normal car to me, as opposed to a Tesla which feels different. There are some minor bugs but overall it's a great car and decent value for money when compared to ICE cars with same features. The main con is the mob who's doing the importing to Australia, they're new at it and not the most organised.

 

Very likely pre-2020 car/model. GWM is one of the largest manufacturers in China....many were pretty cheap and nasty back in the day - think 1987 Hyundai Excels. They've improved leaps and bounds since the mid 2010s when I actually thought what were they smoking bringing an unfinished / not up to Western standard product to Australia.

Their EVs are generally top notch, they've poached a lot of designers/safety engineers from top leading Western brands. Most of the battery tech (BYD itself was battery manufacturer/designer/inventor come car manufacturer) is actually from them, CATL (Chinese), Panasonic (Japan) and LG Chem (South Korea) and Samsung (South Korea).

Don't get me wrong though, some of their handling leaves a lot to be desired and that's where I still think there is a gap between the established old marques from Germany/Japan/USA and them. Having said this though, there is a compelling argument when it comes to purchasing an EV from them rather than if any from established brands.

For those old enough, I'd say they are where the Japanese marques were in the early 80s and where the Koreans were in the early 2000s.

 

Ive had a bit to do with BYD Australia.
BYD build the batteries for Tesla 3's with BYD's blade battery design.
Atto 3's are a good thing but the interior is a bit much for me.

 

It is a car so buy what you like and can afford.
For me, I like Tesla.

 

Has anyone rolled out reasonably priced small ev yet?

 

saw that they r going to import seal or dolphin?? a small hatachback

 

Thanks, that does look interesting

 

The most affordable small hatchback currently is the GWM Ora

 

Which is a pretty poor deal because its only a few grand difference between that and the byd atto 3 considering the compromises in size and range.

 

Those are pretty much the anti-ev, legacy fuel proponent's canned talking points.

1st point, well yeah, obviously. Any new car vs second hand has a price premium. Significant increases in sales currently will mean more EVs on the second hand car market in a few years. If you look at cost vs other new cars, the 5 year TCO for an equivalent vehicle is better with an EV. Hell, with the FBT exemptions, you can get a $70k Tesla for about the same out of pocket as a Camry.

2nd point, your mobile phone has more cobalt in it than my EV. I actually dont know if that is completely true but the LFP batteries do not use cobalt - I'm just not sure if there are any other bits of the car that would have cobalt. Yes, an EV has a higher impact on the environment to manufacture, but that gap is generally closed within about 100k km. That doesn't address the particulate emissions and health impacts of an ICE though. Even if an EV is powered purely by coal generated electricity, it is still more efficient than an ICE vehicle.

3rd point. Well, some subjectivity there. And I'm not sure how some of the chinese EVs (like BYD) will depreciate - maybe similar to their equivalent ICE vehicles, but with less mechanically that can go wrong.


I can understand the position that EVs aren't environmentally good enough to replace ICE vehicles coming from someone that is pushing public transport and active transport, but that is rarely the case - it is always a ICE enthusiast making the claim. Putting a sunset on new ICE passenger vehicles is a good thing, and the progressive migration to EVs, with ever-improving technology becoming available is the path we have.

 

The BYD Atto 3 is definitely the better option when looking at compact size vehicles. Just thought I'd mention the GWM Ora as Strannik asked for small EV so I assumed compromise in size wasn't an issue.

I believe the Atto 3 doesn't have Android Auto/Apple Carplay and is awaiting an update for the feature (not sure if it has since been updated). A deal breaker for me these days