BYD isn’t just looking to lure in electric car buyers with its budget-busting Atto 1 and Atto 2 small cars, it hopes these two cement the brand’s future in Australia for the long-term.
As we’ve previously written, the arrival of the Atto 1 with its $23,990 not only makes it the cheapest electric car in Australia, but one of the most-affordable cars in the market. It’s also the cheapest model BYD has offered to-date, and this potentially opens up the market to younger buyers.
This is crucial to the brand’s long-term strategy, as it will allow BYD to attract first-time new car buyers to its showrooms, which makes it easier to retain them for their next purchase. This is a common strategy in the new car market, as we’ve seen previously with the likes of Toyota, Mazda, Kia and Hyundai – all now amongst the most popular brands in the country.
Asked about this strategy, BYD Australia Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Collins, said it is definitely part of the brand’s thinking in launching such an affordable model – electric or otherwise.
“ A hundred percent,” he admitted. “So Atto 1 is a great example of it where there’ll be people in their 20s, their first car. We think that appealing to those in that generation, they’re the next generation of Shark and Sealion 7 buyers. So for us it’s about expanding the awareness and the consideration of BYD as a brand that’s here for the long term.”
Because of this, Collins made it clear that the Atto 1 is more than just a new model to grow short-term sales, but rather a “brand statement” that sets the long-term agenda for the Chinese car maker in Australia.
“ It’s really important just to show what we can do,” he said. “So I think it’s a brand statement as much as anything. The volume on it is hard to pick because if you look at the segment, the micro segment on paper is pretty small. So if you want a reasonable chunk of share of what’s a pretty small segment the numbers aren’t huge, but I personally think it will appeal to some late car buyers. I think that for people who have kids in their 20s, it’s a first car, rather than buying a three, four, or five-year-old small car or something similar from near the same money you can get an eight or 10 year old car.
“So yeah, I think it’s a brand statement. I think we’ll know early on that our expressions of interest have been really strong. I think we’ve got close to 1600 expressions of interest on that car. And we’ll be looking to convert all of those to orders and customers. So I think early on there’ll be a lot of demand, but I think it’ll settle down at probably 300 a month which is still good business and just shows what we can do in terms of making EVs more accessible.”
The Atto 1 is also likely to be as cheap as BYD gets in Australia, at least for the time being, with Collins ruling out any short-term changes – while also leaving the door open in the future.
“ Look, not right now, no,” he said. “We’re pretty comfortable with where it’s positioned now, but again, what I’m saying to our team every single day is, we’re not gonna rest on our laurels. We just need to keep looking for opportunities. So, look, I’d never say never, but we don’t have a plan for that.”
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