BYD still aiming for Australian market dominance

BYD has doubled down on its previously stated plan to rapidly become a top-five automotive brand in Australia, before eventually overtaking Toyota at the top of the local auto market.

In December 2023, after releasing the Dolphin electric hatch and Seal electric sedan in addition to its pioneering Atto 3 electric SUV, the Chinese carmaker issued a press release outlining “the lofty goals of BYD to be a top five brand in Australia with aspirations of reaching the number one spot“.

Almost a year later, having added the Sealion 6 mid-sized plug-in hybrid SUV to its local range, BYD is on a hot streak in terms of sales and the latest commentary from its local distributor EVDirect indicates it’s not planning on slowing down anytime soon.

EVDirect CEO David Smitherman told CarExpert at a recent media pre-drive of the upcoming Shark plug-in hybrid ute that BYD is planning to double its Australian sales every year.

“Last year we sold 12,500 vehicles and I’m very happy to go on record that year after year we’re looking to double those sales, so long as we can get the vehicles in market at the right time,” said Mr Smitherman.

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“So our expectations will be for next year to double sales again and to aggressively grow our market share as we bring new models on.

“So that will take some time, is the truth of it. But if you look at BYD globally… I’d expect us to be a significant player in the Australian market.”

If 25,000 BYD vehicles are sold in Australia as planned this year, the fast-growing Chinese carmaker may outsell brands including Audi, Honda, LDV, and Mercedes-Benz in 2024.

To the end of September this year, BYD has sold 15,181 vehicles, which is up 160.1 per cent year-on-year.

And if BYD doubles its sales target in 2024 and subsequent years, it would sell 50,000 vehicles in 2025, and 100,000 vehicles in 2026 – a forecast that was previously outlined to local media by Mr Smitherman and a figure that was achieved last year by only Toyota and Mazda.

BYD plans to reach these massive sales numbers, which would logically culminate in 200,000 sales by 2027, with a rapid expansion in its model range and dealer network, as well as aggressive fleet deals.

Local market leader Toyota sold 215,240 vehicles here in 2023 – down from its all-time record of 231,050 in 2022 – and is up 18.7 per cent to September this year, when it will mark 28 years as the nation’s most popular auto brand.

In Australia, BYD currently offers the Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal electric vehicles (EVs), as well as the Sealion 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUV.

The latter has been the top-selling PHEV in Australia for the last two months and is on track to top the PHEV sales charts for the year, despite only launching in June.

On October 29, BYD will open orders for its Shark 6 PHEV ute, which it claims will be its most important model to date and its top-seller in 2025, following first customer deliveries in December of January.

In February next year, BYD is planning the local launch of the Sealion 7, a mid-size electric SUV that will rival the Tesla Model Y – Australia’s favourite EV in 2023.

MORE: BYD gunning for Toyota with 30 new dealers, new hybrids