Upgraded 2024 BYD Atto 3 and BYD Dolphin score price cuts in dramatic bid to boost sales
Two years after its local release the 2024 BYD Atto 3 has been updated with enhanced tech, better tyres, new colour options and lower prices as the Chinese brand attempts to reverse its sales decline Down Under.
Both the BYD Atto 3 Standard Range and Atto 3 Extended Range are now $3512 cheaper than before. With the reductions the former starts at $44,990 (plus on-road costs) and the latter $47,499 (plus ORCs).
The price cut accompanies the arrival of a new 15.6-inch infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay, a fun karaoke game and a ‘Camping Mode’ setting that allows owners to run climate control while the car’s turned off.
Other changes include new premium Continental tyres and revised ‘BYD’ lettering on the tailgate (instead of the full Build Your Dreams), while Cosmos Black paint has been added to the options list that can be combined with either a black or dark blue interior.
Reasserting itself as the cheapest battery-powered mid-size SUV, the BYD Atto 3 clearly undercuts the best-selling Tesla Model Y, Hyundai IONIQ 5, Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X rivals.
However, it’s still more expensive than Australia’s cheapest electric SUV, the smaller MG ZS EV, which starts at $39,990 drive-away.
And more aggressively priced opponents are imminent. From August, the BYD faces new challenges from the likes of the XPeng G6 and SsangYong EVX. Both are tipped to have sticker prices close to the Atto 3’s.
Before the end of ther year Stellantis-backed Chinese brand Leapmotor arrives with a mandate to tackle BYD head-on in the market.
These price cuts are an indication of BYD and its local distributor EVDirect’s determination to hit startlingly ambitious sales targets over the next few years and eventually tackle Toyota as the market leader.
Mechanically, both the Atto 3 Standard and Atto 3 Extended carry over unchanged. That means the entry-level uses a 50.1kWh battery providing 400km range, while the Extended gets a larger 60kWh battery providing 480km range.
Both use the same 150kW/310Nm single electric motor.
It’s not just the Atto 3 hoping for a sales turnaround – the smaller and cheaper BYD Dolphin has also received a haircut to the tune of $2000.
Briefly Australia’s most affordable EV, the Dolphin Dynamic with 340km range is now priced from just $36,890 (plus ORCs), while the Premium with 427km range is now $42,890 (plus ORCs). Both these prices are two grand less than previous.
Despite slashing prices, the Dolphin still misses out on regaining its cheapest EV crown as the GWM Ora remains pegged at an impressive $35,990 drive-away.
Unlike the Atto 3 the Dolphin hatch’s specification carries over unchanged.
Motivation behind the cuts is a haemorrhaging of sales. Peak monthly volumes of 598 in November 2023 dropped to just 174 deliveries in May 2024.
BYD’s sales decline is out of step with Australia’s overall EV numbers. Latest figures show deliveries have grown by 4 per cent, with total sales sitting 27 per cent higher in the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
