Another Chinese brand has made the bold claim that one of its products has no direct rivals in Australia.
BYD has echoed similar claims made by Chery about its new Lepas brand just a few weeks ago, asserting that the Atto 2 DM-i plug-in hybrid (PHEV) small SUV is in a class of one in Australia’s new-car market.
“Some brands have said that their cars don’t have competitors, but [the Atto 2 DM-i] literally doesn’t have a competitor,” BYD Australia chief product officer Sajid Hasan told media including CarExpert.
“If you look at that segment, the majority of the volume in there is actually in petrol and a little bit of hybrid. There are no plug-in hybrid competitors in that space.”
Not only is the Atto 2 DM-i Australia’s only plug-in hybrid small SUV, but it’s also the country’s cheapest PHEV, period. It’s priced from $24,990 before on-road costs in base Essential trim, and rises to $29,990 before on-roads for the top-spec Premium.
Other electrified models in the small SUV segment include the Chery Tiggo 4 Hybrid priced from $29,990 drive-away, and the GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid priced from $32,990 drive-away. Both are ‘plugless’ hybrids with limited electric-only capability, and Mr Hasan said the Atto 2 PHEV’s sub-$25,000 base price was designed to undercut those of all small hybrid SUVs.
“It was about making sure that the price point was competitive and that we could have enough market accessibility within the small SUV segment,” Mr Hasan told CarExpert.
“We knew for us to achieve that reach, we needed to be priced amongst the existing competitors. That helped us fulfil that goal of making new-energy vehicles and this plug-in hybrid technology more accessible to all Australians.”
Asked whether he was interested in pursuing the plugless hybrid approach of its fellow Chinese brands in the small SUV segment, Mr Hasan reaffirmed that BYD would not change course from its EV/PHEV-only strategy.
“We don’t see a need to,” he told CarExpert.
“Our plug-in hybrids, particularly with [the Atto 2 DM-i], are going to be almost a test case to see how much we can gain traction with the customers that are considering a plugless hybrid.
“The battery is much bigger than a plugless hybrid, and that allows it to have that daily commuting range of EV driving. If you didn’t charge it and chose to drive it just as a hybrid, its fuel economy is close to that of a plugless hybrid.”
Mr Hasan added that while BYD doesn’t expect issues with Atto 2 DM-i uptake despite its slightly more complex PHEV powertrain compared to a traditional hybrid, he conceded that some “education” about the technology was still needed.
“The market is already moving in that direction… there’s a lot more things for people to refer to, to understand how this technology works,” he told CarExpert.
“The misconception that all plug-in hybrid technologies are the same and that if you don’t charge it up, then you’re just lugging around a heavy battery driving on petrol; there’s still work that we need to do to bust that myth.
“That’s not actually how our architecture works. Our cars won’t run out of battery before they run out of petrol because they’re always going to use the petrol [engine] to charge the battery. It acts as a generator to charge the battery so that the car can move on electric power.
“That’s why we’re confident with this Atto 2 DM-i. The more people who take it up, even if they don’t charge it, they’ll realise this is actually just a hybrid with the added benefit of being able to be driven on pure EV as well.”
The Atto 2 DM-i’s electric-only capability varies depending on the model grade. The top-spec Premium has a competitive claimed electric-only range of 90km courtesy of its 18.03kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack.
However, the Essential drops to a 7.85kWh LFP battery with a claimed EV-only range of 39km. A 1.5-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine is standard in both grades, though the Premium also produces slightly more power overall.
Interestingly, Mr Hasan expects a relatively balanced mix of buyers across the two grades.
“In most of our model lines, we tend to have a richer mix of premium grades,” he told CarExpert.
“In this segment, if you look at the existing competitors, they also tend to be a bit more skewed towards the higher grades. But we recognise that a $5000 price walk in this segment is also something that’s likely to have an impact on the mix.
“By the way we’ve specified our Essential grade, I think we can still get strong interest in it. Given the price sensitivity in the segment, I think we might actually see a little bit more of a balanced grade mix.”
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