BYD heading into unchartered territory as it aims to be ‘a brand for Australians’

From now, BYD says it will be moving further west from the east coast to reach more regional Australians, following the launch of its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute in Broken Hill.

BYD says it “wants to be a brand for Australians” – with plans to become more regionally-focused in future.

The car maker launched locally in 2022 with its Atto 3 mid-sized SUV, followed by the Seal sedan, Dolphin hatch, Sealion 6 SUV and now Shark 6 ute.

While the Atto 3, Seal and Dolphin are all fully electric, the Sealion 6 and Shark 6 are plug-in hybrids, having ended production of internal combustion-engined vehicles in overseas markets in 2022.

As both an electric vehicle manufacturer and a Chinese brand, which are still facing some prejudice in 2024, the firm is keen to make greater headway in reaching more Australians, particularly away from the major cities.

That, in part, is why BYD launched the Shark 6 in Broken Hill this week, aiming to showcase the ute’s off-road capabilities and how its plug-in hybrid powertrain can be used as a power source in remote areas.

“If you want to launch a ute in Australia you don’t do it in a city hotel right? You want to do it where Australians are, we wanted to bring the vehicle to the Outback,” CEO David Smitherman told Drive. 

“I’ve personally been here many times, I love the Outback and I just think what it does is signify that BYD is here – we’re not a city brand, we want to be a brand for Australians.”

At present, BYD has 37 dealerships, known predominantly as ‘experience centres’ – though it has its flagship store in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, and ‘megastores’ in Alexandria in Sydney and Richmond in Melbourne.

In addition to these, it has 21 service and repair centres and 39 solely service centres – though one of each is temporarily closed.

The greatest presence is in New South Wales, followed by Queensland and then Victoria. The only state or territory with no physical representation is the Northern Territory.

“If we want to be in the ute market, we must have a regional focus right?,” said Mr Smitherman. “You’ll start to see our dealerships progressively move further west, for servicing and parts as well.”

Asked whether the recent slowdown in the uptake of electric vehicles both globally and nationally would affect this rollout, Mr Smitherman told us: “From our point of view, our numbers are still up year-on-year for EVs, some other brands have seen quite significant falls.

“The challenges are where people struggle with range anxiety, what I’m really excited about with the Shark 6 is that it overcomes that and it’s a more natural step for Australians from an ICE (internal combustion engine) to PHEV than an EV.

“But the reality is that most Aussies do a 30km commute in a day, and in that case EVs are perfect. So I think the good thing is we’re giving people a choice and offering alternative powertrains, that’s what you’ll continue to see from us we’ll roll out a product in every segment.”

The post BYD heading into unchartered territory as it aims to be ‘a brand for Australians’ appeared first on Drive.