$6K price cut for BYD Atto 3 electric SUV

BY PETER BARNWELL | 24th Apr 2024

GIANT Chinese brand BYD has embarked on its first discount program Down Under offering the fully electric Atto 3 Extended Range medium size SUV at “never seen before prices”, drive-away on MY23 stock.

Those prices start from $45,990 for non-metallic paint Australia-wide except for WA which adds $2000 to the sticker. The price for non-discounted new stock is $48,011 excluding on-road costs, a significant difference of around $6000 taking into account all charges.

Metallic paint adds $600 across the board.

The stock clearance comes as the brand sold 11,042 examples of the model in 2023 and is following up in the first three months of this year moving 2220 units ending March 2024.

From those numbers, it seems the Atto 3’s natural sales level is around 1000 units a month, which may not suit BYD’s Australian distributor EVDirect as it digests heavy discounting among other Chinese BEV brands including GWM, Chery and MG, all of whom have offered deals on certain BEV models in certain ways over the past few months.

Like BYD, some of these price cuts amount to many thousands of dollars.

Hovering atop all of this is Tesla which BYD and others no doubt have an eye on in sales terms particularly when considering its medium size over $60K BEV SUV, the Model Y, accounted for nearly 30,000 sales last year and has already recorded 6835 so far this year until the end of March.

That number would be considered aspirational for the cheaper Chinese BEV makers on record as saying they want a larger slice of the action and are apparently using the discounting strategy to win more buyers.

Coupled with all of this is the ever-increasing presence of other players in the medium BEV SUV space, the likes of Toyota with its heavily promoted bZ4X, the Subaru Solterra, and a rash of Koreans including Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and 6 models, and the Kia EV5 that’s due in June.

From a time not long ago when there were a couple of players in the medium size battery powered electric SUV space, there are going to be quite a few vying for sales in the Australia’s biggest market segment that accounted for over 260,000 sales last year.

As reported recently in GoAuto, also in the background are troubles at BYD head office with the manufacturer falling well short of its earnings estimates globally, down 2.5 billion yuan ($A540m) in its latest stock exchange filing as demand for battery electric vehicles softens.

While BYD’s preliminary 2023 net income rose 75 per cent on the previous year – to between 29 and 31 billion yuan ($A6.3 and $A6.7b) – the numbers are reported to be short of analyst’s average estimates.

Further, BYD shares have fallen by an average of four per cent, extending losses over the past 12 months to approximately 37 per cent.

Globally, and in the final quarter of 2023, BYD sold 526,409 battery electric vehicles, surpassing Tesla for the first time as the largest seller of BEVs. It is a spike driven mainly by a broader range offering, particularly of cheaper models like the e6 and Dolphin.

BYD has been in something of a price war both in its home market and others as it pushes to gain market share. Heavy discounting of its models aims to keep it abreast of annual sales targets but come at the cost of overall earnings.

It is also reported that geopolitical tensions are taking a toll on the Chinese manufacturer.

BYD’s national discount promotion is called “Attovation” Demonstrator Event which the brand says, “provides customers across the country the opportunity to drive home BYD Australia’s highest selling vehicle at never-before-seen prices”.

“BYD is committed to providing customers with the best possible car-buying experience, and our ATTOvation campaign is a testament to that commitment,” said EVDirect CEO David Smitherman.

“We're excited to offer unbeatable deals and flexible financing options to drivers across the country. With rising costs of living, one true benefit is reduced ongoing expenses, so it’s never better time to consider an EV.”

The promotional pricing offer runs from April 22 to May 31 on designated demonstrators only and for vehicles ordered and delivered between those dates.

MY23 plated BYD Atto 3 Extended Range demonstrator drive-away pricing: