BYD pivots to PHEV in Australia

BYD has so far been an EV-only brand in Australia, but it’s now betting it can popularise its upcoming petrol-electric plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models here without attracting a backlash from its growing battery-electric vehicle fanbase.

However, it admits some education of Australian new-vehicle buyers will be required to introduce them to PHEV technology so it can play a key role in BYD’s staggering local sales growth ambitions.

The Chinese brand was launched in Australia in 2022 with the BYD Atto 3 small electric SUV and has since added the Dolphin hatch and Seal sedan, sales of which have established it as the number two EV brand behind Tesla.

Based on its affordable EVs, it has achieved one of the most successful brand launches in modern automotive history in Australia.

But around mid-year BYD will release its the first PHEV (or super-hybrid, as it’s dubbed by the company) in the form of the BYD Seal U mid-size SUV, while the Shark dual-cab 4x4 ute will be the first plug-in hybrid ute to arrive in Australia in late 2024 or early 2025.

Outlining a huge sales growth and product rollout plan to carsales recently, the CEO of BYD importer EVDirect, David Smitherman, confirmed that PHEV models will be a key part of the brand’s sales mix going forward.

While acknowledging there was the potential for electric vehicle purists among its buying base to be frustrated by BYD’s move into CO2-emitting internal combustion-engined motoring, he downplayed any chance of a backlash or EV buyer boycott.

“I don’t expect that,” he said.

“I’ll be quite frank with you, I think in Australia yes we are known as an EV brand, but globally we are not.

“I don’t think we have ever positioned ourselves as an EV brand only.

“I think this is a natural evolution for our business and if I look at where the market opportunity is I see us getting significant growth and awareness by jumping into the super-hybrid.”

Smitherman argued the set-up of the brand’s PHEV system to default to electric-only running first and its substantial EV-only range (claimed to be around 100km, depending on the model) would ameliorate a lot of anti-ICE concern.

“The average Australian drives 33km per day and they can by and large drive in EV mode,” he said.

“But what the super-hybrid gives is the person who has a longer commute or drives a longer distance… it allows them to get an EV.

“So I think it’s actually quite a positive, because we are getting people who want an EV but have other needs and wants. So this will allow them to get into it.

“I think this will also be an opportunity for Australia until our infrastructure is set to get more new-energy vehicles on the road.”

Specifically in relation to the Shark, Smitherman has previously extolled the potential savings of PHEV for people using a dual-cab ute as a business vehicle.

Smitherman also downplayed the apparent lack of interest in PHEV powertrains in Australia, which according to VFACTS accounted for only 3426 sales to the end of March 2024, compared to 35,203 plugless hybrids and 25,468 EVs.

“The key thing there is education,” he said. “We need to educate people why this [PHEV] vehicle is going to be fit for people and I think that comes back to how the vehicle is used.

“And if I come back to my earlier comment that the average person uses a vehicle for 33km per day, well that means that person who perhaps isn’t ready for that big jump from an ICE vehicle, they can get into this as an intermediate step.

“I feel as though there is – dare I say it – quite a psychological behavioural issue around this change to EV vehicles and maybe for generations we have been driving ICE vehicles and all of a sudden we have got to make this gigantic leap.

“I think what the super-hybrid represents is an opportunity for some people to make that first initial step.

“But they are still driving an EV. It is electric first and that is what we want to get across.”

To support the rapid rollout of up to five new models a year and its plan to sell 50,000 vehicles in 2025, BYD is adding a number of provincial dealers to its predominantly urban retail network, and moving away from Mycar (previously branded as Kmart Tyre and Auto) aftersales servicing in those areas.

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