Deal hunter: $500 rebate top-up for BYD Atto 3 customers

BYD Australia is offering a $500 top-up of the various remaining state government EV incentives to customers who purchase a BYD Atto 3 by December 31, essentially boosting the rebates up to as much as $6500 in some instances.

The offer comes as New South Wales prepares to follow Victoria’s lead and scrap its EV incentive scheme in the New Year – Victoria has already done it – in order to direct more funds towards improving the state’s charging infrastructure.

Neither state was a national leader in terms of the attractiveness of their incentives, but they are the two biggest EV markets in the country and so an extra $500 to sweeten the deal in NSW could be exactly what’s needed to get more people into EVs, even if the small electric SUV is no longer Australia’s cheapest zero-emissions vehicle.

The offer is perhaps most tempting to Queenslanders and Western Australians, given these states have the two biggest rebates: $6000 for the former and $3500 for the latter, increasing to $6500 and $4000 with this new factory top up.

A $6500 discount takes the base Atto 3 Standard Range from $48,011 plus on-road costs to just $41,511 plus ORCs – less than the asking price of the smaller BYD Dolphin Premium hatch that features the same basic drivetrain.

However, BYD has stipulated the top-up is only applicable to Atto 3 buyers for vehicles purchased and delivered between October 1 and December 31.

But what if you fancy something a bit more high-brow or sophisticated than a BYD?

Well, MINI Australia is hard at work trying to clear out stock of the current-generation MINI Hatch in preparation for the new model due next year, and so it’s currently offering the lavish 2023 MINI Hatch Cooper SE Resolute for $59,990 drive-away.

Not only does this mark an outright discount of more than $5000, it also scraps several grand’s worth of on-road costs and makes the funky three-door EV eligible for the vast majority of state EV incentives, meaning there’s another $3000-$6000 taken off the drive-away price.

When all is said and done in Queensland, consumers can look forward to more than $13,000 off the usual drive-away pricing. Like BYD’s offer, the vehicle must be purchased and delivered within this quarter.

But don’t worry, because there are still a heap of promos going on traditional internal combustion vehicles too, including the 2023 Renault Koleos Zen 4x2 automatic.

Positioned as the second-tier variant within Renault Australia’s Koleos range, the Zen 4x2 usually retails for $42,500 plus on-road costs but it currently available from $43,490 drive-away.

That means all the irritating and budget-busting on-road costs have been compressed down to $1490, which is far better than the usual four grand or so – depending on the state or territory you live in.

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