BYD Atto 3 warranty trimmed, service pricing confirmed

UPDATE 23/08/2022 6:00pm: BYD Automotive Australia has advised that "All customers including existing deposit holders will receive the newly updated warranty details", meaning that all Atto 3 buyers will receive a shorter than previously advertised six-year/150,000km vehicle warranty but a longer eight-year/160,000km battery warranty, which BYD says is in line with its regional aftersales provisions.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE PUBLISHED 23/08/2022 12:43pm: BYD Automotive Australia has slashed a year from its warranty coverage for the just-released BYD Atto 3 electric SUV, dropping from a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty to now just six years and 150,000km of coverage.

There is some positive news in the warranty demotion, however. The warranty covering the high-voltage battery has stepped up to eight years and 160,000km – a year longer than previously advertised.

BYD guarantees at least 70 per cent of the original battery capacity after that time.

It’s unclear whether the 4500 Australians that BYD says have already placed a deposit on an Atto 3 (many of whom have taken delivery in recent days) will get the Chinese brand’s originally advertised seven-year warranty.

There are also some notable exclusions in the newly-announced warranty. For example, the fancy multimedia system with a 12.8-inch screen that can rotate 90 degrees only has warranty coverage for three years and 60,000km, while the suspension system is only covered for four years and 100,000km.

Perhaps that’s because BYD is what Luke Todd, the CEO of local importer EV Direct, describes as “a tech company that has wonderful automotive products”.

The changes to the warranty for the Atto 3 come as BYD announces Australian service details for the battery-powered SUV, which was officially launched in February with a starting price of $44,381 plus on-road costs and is now available to purchase via dealers as well as online.

Details are included on the new BYD Automotive website, to which the previous EV Direct website now redirects.

Servicing must be performed every 12 months or 20,000km and is covered under a capped-price service arrangement at 10 new BYD Service Centres that were set up as part of a deal with dealer group Eagers.

Servicing for eight years and 160,000km is capped at $3092.62, with annual services ranging from $190.37 to $661.32.

BYD has also arranged official servicing at MyCar service centres, although prices may vary slightly. Initially the Atto 3 servicing is limited to 30 MyCar outlets, although the plan is to ramp that number up to 100 by late 2023.

The deal with MyCar was also originally intended to involve delivery of vehicles.

However, that deal has been terminated, with BYD now planning to deliver cars through its 11 experience centres, 10 of which are part of the Eagers deal (Eagers owns 49 per cent of the newly formed BYD Automotive).

The Atto 3 can still be purchased online, too, but despite the involvement of the Eagers dealer group, Todd says BYD does not operate under a traditional sales model in Australia.

“We’ve moved away from full digital with deliveries through MyCar to having 11 additional facilities… but it’s not your traditional dealership [model],” said Todd.

BYD experience centres will be much smaller than traditional dealerships (despite sometimes being housed within their grounds) and the staff will not be working on commission.

Instead, the so-called “vehicle geniuses” will work in a similar way to Tesla and Polestar sales people, simply informing interested prospects of the vehicle’s features.

When customers buy a BYD, prices are fixed and they are purchasing the car directly from the independent Australian distributor BYD Automotive, rather than from a dealership.

Todd says the unusual sales model negates high-pressure selling while giving the brand access to an established parts distribution network as well as retail outlets.

“It’s a retail partnership with Eagers. We own 51 per cent of that relationship,” said Todd.

“We’re proud of the fact we don’t have sales people – the car does that for us.”

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