Mycar, the independent repairer formerly known as Kmart Tyre & Auto, has signed up as both delivery and servicing agent for Chinese-made BYD electric cars – with a timeline that it says kicks off from later this month.
The company inked the partnership to perform these crucial functions with BYD’s official Australian-market importer, which plans to sell a range of EVs via its consumer-facing online ordering platform EVDirect.com.au.
The agreement is set to see BYD vehicles handed directly to customers via the 275-strong mycar network of service centres across Australia. “Customers will be able to engage with BYD at mycar stores before the vehicle is delivered,” the service provider added.
Therefore, EVDirect.com.au customers will seemingly interact with the BYD brand pretty much entirely via the mycar stores, for both vehicle delivery and for ongoing maintenance by its increasingly EV-trained technicians.
Mycar claims it will begin delivering BYD vehicles to customers via eight locations from this month, with “mass delivery” to take place from 30 sites across its national network from around March 2022.
“This is an exciting moment of growth for mycar as a leading brand in Australia’s vehicle sector,” claims mycar managing director Adam Pay.
“Our partnership with EVDirect.com.au sees us not only expand our expertise into the growing electric vehicle space but gives our team the opportunity to leverage our exceptional customer service into a new realm, delivering new car owners a frictionless, transparent, and engaging experience that our existing customers have come to expect from us.”
It’s not the first time mycar has pivoted recently, having announced an agreement to do official service and warranty work or AusMV – the Queensland-based company that remanufactures Dodge, Ford and Ram vehicles locally.
For its part, EVDirect.com.au claims it intends to sell other electric brands beyond BYD, and mycar is in line to serve as a key partner for these marques as well.
“Much has been said about how EVs will be serviced once they become mainstream. EVDirect.com.au’s relationship with mycar provides the best possible solution,” said the platform’s managing director Luke Todd.
“The partnership makes sense for us and enables EVs to be rolled out in large volumes nationally. With mycar’s scale as a national car-care brand being synonymous with exceptional customer service, our long-term agreement ensures our EV owners will have peace of mind that all their car-care needs will be well met.
“Growth in demand for EV vehicles is something to be really excited about. We are receiving daily enquiries from Australians about our EVs, which will be offered at price parity to cars with internal combustion engines.
“By August 2023, we will offer six BYD models through our unique e-commerce platform. We greatly look forward to expanding and strengthening our relationship with mycar in the years to come,” Mr Todd added.
That’s a bold ambition.
The first two BYDs available, the limited-run $40,000 2021 e6 people-mover and the $35,000 T3 van, are already sold out for this year, but the site invites people to “enquire now” to order 2022 cars. There’s little information in regards to timing.
Beyond this, the distributor has previously said it would put the BYD Yuan Plus electric SUV on sale from October, but missed this deadline. It also expects to be selling the EA1 EV hatch from next year, based on the BYD Dolphin model sold in China.
EVDirect.com.au is operated by a company called Nexport, in turn part of the TrueGreen Group investment fund.
BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffet and is reportedly working to supply the likes of Tesla and Toyota with its Blade lithium iron phosphate batteries, is a rapidly-growing producer and electric cars and buses, and is busily expanding its reach beyond China.
We’re continuing to watch this story as it develops, and will keep you updated when BYD vehicles actually become widely available.
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