New BYD electric SUV on the way
Orders to open in October for what could be Australia’s cheapest EVA brand-new electric SUV from Chinese car-maker BYD will be available to order in Australia from October, ahead of first deliveries starting in April 2022.
Known as the Yuan Plus in China, where it’s just been launched, the compact battery-powered SUV will have a different name when it gets to Australia, where a starting price of around $35,000 has been promised.
That would undercut the MG ZS EV ($44,990 drive-away) and make it the cheapest EV available in Australia.
Just launched in China, the small five-door wagon is the third electrified model to be confirmed by the local BYD importer Nexport.
It is also by far the most commercially appealing and will be offered for sale through Nexport’s EVDirect sales portal.
The BYD Yuan Plus follows on from the BYD T3 Electric van that is priced from $34,950 plus on-roads and the $39,990 BYD e6, of which only 15 have been imported and all of which Nexport says are sold.
Nexport boss Luke Todd, who also runs closely-related True Green Mobility, predicted a $35,000 price for the SUV in an interview with carsales in June.
Todd has been constant promoter of the BYD business since completing the import deal with BYD last October.
He says there are plans to build BYD vehicles in Australia at a new factory in Moss Vale NSW.
Todd announced the new SUV on LinkedIn, calling it “The EV that changes everything.”
The new BYD SUV measures 4455mm long, 1875mm wide and 1615mm tall, making it both longer and wider than the cheapest EV SUV currently sold in Australia, the MG ZS EV, also made in China.
Like the MG ZS EV, the Yuan Plus is powered by a single e-motor that sits under the bonnet, powers the front wheels and in this case reportedly produces 150kW/310Nm.
Electricity is stowed in a Blade battery pack with lithium-ion phosphate chemistry. The real-world range aimed for in Australia is beyond 400km.
Nexport is promising the Yuan Plus will be the first of three new BYD models that will go on sale here in 2022, with another three planned for 2023.
BYD – which stands for Build Your Dreams – is one of the globe’s biggest EV manufacturers, only being surpassed by Tesla in 2019.
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