BYD is continuing to expand its physical footprint, with Victoria next in line for retail-style Experience Centre
Luke Todd, managing director of BYD’s local distributor, confirmed there will soon be a BYD Experience Centre in Melbourne.
The upcoming Experience Centre will largely mirror the one in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, according to Mr Todd.
An exact location for the Centre – essentially a retail-style storefront rather than a conventional car dealer – is yet to be determined, but Mr Todd hinted it’ll most likely be near the CBD.
Once the Melbourne Experience Centre is open it’ll bolster the two retail and delivery centres currently set up in Brooklyn and Dandenong, Victoria.
The announcement of a Melbourne BYD Experience Centre coincides with the first Victorian customer delivery of an Atto 3 electric SUV. It follows shortly after the first BYD Atto 3 was delivered to an Australian customer late last week.
The BYD Atto 3 is priced from $44,990 drive-away depending on your state for the Standard Range model, with the Extended Range model costing $3000 more.
Atto 3
The Atto 3 Extended Range offers 420km of range on the WLTP cycle – an increase of 100km on the Standard Range.
Both variants use BYD’s in-house Blade LFP batteries, with base cars packing 50kWh of capacity and the Extended Range model 60kWh.
Mr Todd confirmed the Atto 3 Standard Range is due to arrive in Australia late in 2022 or early in 2023.
Production of the entry-level BYD Atto 3 for Australia is set to commence in November at its plant in Shenzhen, China.
Seal 
Dolphin
In addition to the BYD Atto 3 Standard Range, Mr Todd confirmed the Tesla Model 3-rivalling Seal sedan and Dolphin small hatchback will go on sale in Australia late this year or early 2023, ahead of deliveries kicking off in 2023.
Exact delivery dates will be announced shortly, according to Mr Todd.
Mr Todd said both of these upcoming models will likely have different names locally, as Seal and Dolphin are what the cars are called in the Chinese market.
Following the commencement of Atto 3 customer deliveries, Mr Todd said the order bank is currently nearing the 4500 mark.
This is after around 140 people cancelled their orders, according to Mr Todd, due to the recently-announced servicing and warranty programs.
In response to the backlash, BYD recently adjusted its service pricing to include a cheaper, lower-mileage servicing option, but is standing firm on its warranty.
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