BYD Atto 3 2023: five-star ANCAP rating awarded to Chinese electric car, but there’s a catch

The phenomenon of a front-wheel-drive car switching to rear-wheel drive has been a rare occurrence over the past 60 years – starting with the FWD Triumph You wouldn’t know from looking at it but this Atto 3’s mildly updated appearance hides a dramatic uplift in electric architecture, chassis capability, performance, range and value

It’s been more than three years since China’s BYD brand debuted its ‘Build Your Dreams’ electric vehicle in Australia, the Atto 3 small SUV. And during BYD’s original ‘Build Your Dreams’ model in Australia, the Atto 3 small electric SUV, remains an interesting car that drives better than its looks imply

Despite its conservative styling and its image as yet another cookie-cutter Chinese EV, the BYD Atto 2 has so far impressed us in review with its painless BYD continues its quest to become the Chinese Toyota by launching Australia’s cheapest plug-in hybrid – the Atto 2 DM-i, offering 90km of electric-only range for under $30K.

Stylish plug-in wagon punches above its weight for its seductive $40K price point

It’s hard to believe but it’s barely been more than a year since the BYD Shark 6 landed in Australia and re-wrote the rulebook on what counts as ‘utility’ Just over a year since it flipped the ute segment on its head, the Shark 6 adds a Performance trim to address its two biggest pitfalls: off-roading and towing.

The BYD Sealion 5 sets a new benchmark for PHEV affordability in Australia starting at $33,990 before on-road costs at a time when buyers are increasingly Eye-catching pricing is BYD’s forte, but has the new plug-in hybrid Sealion 5 finally pushed this brand to its limits?

In the last decade of automotive upheaval, one truth has emerged: the bigger the vehicle, the harder it is to electrify. Bigger vehicles require bigger

The first thing you need to know about the new BYD Atto 2 is that it is — for now at least — Australia’s cheapest electric SUV. That’s going to be the big The most affordable electric SUV in Australia is actually quite good. So what’s the catch?

You’d have to live under a rock to not have noticed the surge of BYD-branded vehicles present on Australian roads. The Xi’an, China-based marque only Sharp pricing, generous specification, handsome styling and a few touches of genuine luxury have catapulted the Sealion 7 to success — but it isn’t perfect

The big issue for plug-in hybrids from legacy brands such as Mitsubishi’s Outlanders and Ford’s defunct Escape PHEV was always price. You’d be paying Making plug-in hybrids even cheaper? The BYD Sealion 5 could arrive and change the game.

When it comes to astronomical rises, there are few car brands that have achieved as much success in a short time as BYD. Its first product, the Atto 3 The Atto 2 is a cheap, cheerful electric SUV that’s showing early promise before arriving in Australia.

BYD is on a mission in Australia – driven by a desire to expand its model range and achieve more than 40,000 sales annually in this market – and the chief New electric mid-sized crossover SUV aims to outdo Tesla Model Y in style and equipment while undercutting it in price. But is the Sealion 7 good enough?

A petrol-electric plug-in hybrid predator has entered the diesel-infested waters of the dual-cab ute segment, and current market form suggests the BYD Is BYD’s plug-in hybrid ute a segment game-changer? Our first full test suggests it's difficult to consider it anything less.

Talk about a baptism of fire, literally being handed the keys to the new 2025 BYD Shark 6 on a muddy track in the NSW Blue Mountains. Yep, I put the BYD’s Will the Shark 6 ute from BYD sink or swim when it comes to off-road driving? We hit the tracks to find out if it's a serious contender or a hyped up pretender.

Twelve months ago, if you had asked me what budget electric car to buy, I happily would have told you to drop everything and buy an MG4. In 2023, I The BYD Dolphin might have the MG4 on outright price, but can the Build Your Dreams hatchback keep up with the MG’s excellent dynamics?

Shark. It’s a bold and intimidating name. My mind immediately travels to Spielberg’s Jaws from 1975, a film that frightened generations from venturing BYD’s debut 4x4 pickup is also the first plug-in hybrid ute offered in Australia. And the petrol-electric attributes it brings could upset diesel stalwart rivals

BYD has updated its strong-selling Atto 3 crossover, and the changes for the Atto 3 ‘Evo’ are much more extensive than they appear. The base Atto 3

Adding appeal to the EV3 electric small SUV, Kia has announced a new GT-Line AWD trim price from $66,490 before on-road costs. The GT-Line AWD is Kia crowns popular small EV range with all-wheel-drive flagship — but no hotted-up GT performance model

The next affordable Chinese electric SUV to launch in Australia will pack the punch of being able to support supervised full-self driving sometime in 2027 Rakish coupe-styled Mona L03 crossover packs three of XPeng’s ‘Turing AI’ chips, allowing full self-driving tech to be rolled out in Australia from next year

BYD’s four year-old Atto 3 midsize electric SUV has gained a huge list of wild technical changes alongside small styling tweaks. The facelift, known as Bigger batteries, rear-wheel drive, and a huge kick in power just some of the updates scheduled for BYD’s small-to-medium Atto 3 facelift known as ‘Evo’

Renault has confirmed its new Scenic E-Tech will soon go on sale in Australia, with the electric small SUV boasting up to 625km of range from a single Stylish and armed with enough range for a return trip from Sydney to Canberra on a single charge, Renault’s seeking to target the head and heart of Aussie buyers

UPDATE: BYD's cut-price electric cars are about to start an all-out price war with the Atto 1 (also known as Dolphin Surf in Europe) to start at around Australian EV prices are about to change in a big way, as BYD confirms two vehicles cheaper than the competition “by some margin”

Leapmotor has confirmed it will debut its B10 small electric SUV to the Australian market in November, with pricing to start from $38,990 drive-away for B10 small electric SUV from Leapmotor will become one of Australia’s cheapest when it arrives in November

Volkswagen Group brands VW, Skoda and Cupra have revealed three new small, affordable electric car concepts that preview production vehicles, built on the Skoda Epiq, Volkswagen ID Cross and Cupra Raval revealed at IAA with ‘MEB Entry’ EV underpinnings

BYD has reported its best sales month on record in Australia, with an astounding 6.7 per cent market share recorded for June 2025. The brand registered Record month for Chinese automaker BYD spearheaded by PHEV and EV offerings

Two new models coming from BYD, the Atto 2 and Sealion 8, prove the Chinese brand has its finger on the pulse of the Australian market. Originally making Chinese brand locks in two new models to take on two of Australia’s biggest markets.

Australians bought more electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024 than ever before, with 91,292 sales eclipsing the 2023 total (87,217) by 4.7 percent, in an The best-selling electric vehicles in Australia, from the chart-topping Tesla Model Y to the least popular EVs on the market

In car news: Pricing and specifications have surfaced for Hyundai’s facelifted 2025 Tucson midsize SUV range, and Audi’s full Q4 E-tron lineup revealed for Australia.

BYD has set its sights on becoming Australia’s most-sold car brand by 2030, with a plan to rapidly expand its lineup by launching two new models every Set to release two models every year from 2024, BYD has set a “lofty” target to steal the sales pole position from Toyota in Australia.

Along with the announcement of the new BYD Dolphin, EV Direct – BYD’s Australian distributor – has committed to bring 100,000 7.0kW electric car chargers Electric carmaker BYD won’t wait for governments to supply chargers – they’re going to do it partially themselves

A new sub-$45,000 electric vehicle will soon go on sale in Australia with a healthy list of features and up to 420km of driving range.

A week after a markdown made the BYD Atto 1 Australia’s cheapest EV at $19,990 driveaway, the Chinese electric car giant appears to have unveiled its