Some in the motor industry see BYD as a serious threat to Tesla, especially when it comes to value for money. The company has been the biggest-selling producer of electric vehicles in China for the past ten years and is now coming to Ireland.
The first BYD car to be imported by MDL in Ireland later this year will be the Atto, a compact family SUV that has just been given the maximum 5-star award by the EuroNCAP crash testing programme. In terms of size, it sits between the MG (also a Chinese brand already on sale here and proving very popular) ZS EV and the Volkswagen ID 4.
While we haven't yet seen one here, the Atto has been on sale in Australia and New Zealand for some time where it is being described as a "lot of car for the money" by the EV’s and Beyond website and a challenger "for Tesla" by the RAC in Victoria.
It is being sold in New Zealand and Australia with a choice of two batteries - 48kW and 60kW - and a number of reviews say it manages quite well to match the company’s claimed range of 420 kilometres.
The Atto seems to have crisp lines and a modern styling pattern, although some owners have chosen, apparently, to remove the full Build Your Dreams (BYD) lettering from the boot hatch.
EV's and Beyond in New Zealand says the car is a competitor for the Tesla Model Y. It points out that the car has 12.8" infotainment screen that rotates from vertical to landscape, "has plenty of rear room and comfortable seats" and is "a lot of car for the money". While the review found the Bluetooth and Spotify sound very good, that of the radio was "terrible".
Auto Express magazine testers have had a brief European drive in the Atto. They note: "Inside, you might be surprised by how neatly finished the Atto 3 is. There are soft-touch materials in many of the key areas and while there are some fussy elements - the dashboard’s air vents seem designed to make a statement, and there are flashes of red piping on the seats and the 'guitar strings’ that form the door side pockets - the overall effect has a bit more panache than, say, MG’s cabins".
The Royal Automobile Club in Victoria says: "The 2023 BYD Atto 3 Extended offers us a taste of just how important Chinese car companies are going to be as we transition to battery-electric vehicles in the coming decades.
It has impressive performance, useful range, a long list of standard equipment, and a price that is far more attainable than the vast bulk of EVs being offered to us by more familiar car manufacturers.
If you want to go electric and you’re after a compact car that is primarily focused on urban and commuting duties then the BYD Atto 3 Extended should be on your consideration list."
There is no point is speculating what its price will be in Ireland, but you can expect it to be nearer a budget price than Tesla's price. It will also need to keep pace with the MG ZS, which starts at just under €32,000 here, after grants.
The car has a six-year, or 150,000 km, warranty and an eight-year battery warranty.
Considering how slow many other global manufacturers have been to embrace fully electric cars - Toyota and Ford, for example - Chinese companies may well have reached a stage of having a range of cars that are more affordable and have more predictable range.
This really is a space to watch, all the more so since BYD - despite its slightly esoteric name - has built this car on a specific electric platform and it owns its own supply chain. It produces its own batteries and even its own semi-conductors. That, in itself, is a huge competitive advantage.
