Driving Enthusiast has witnessed recent order sheet data from EVDealer Group, the retail partner of BYD vehicles in Australia, which suggests the brand could become the best-selling car brand in the country in the next few months.
According to the data for March, there have been around 7000 orders for fully electric BYD vehicles so far (as of March 28), and around 4000 hybrid orders. Looking at the national data, which includes other retail channels, there have been around 700-900 BYD orders coming through per day in March.
This suggests a total monthly volume of almost 30,000 new vehicles. However, these are order numbers and not deliveries, and some could be cancelled or fall through. But it does give us a good idea of what’s happening.
According to VFACTS data, which counts new vehicle registrations in Australia for almost all car brands (excluding Tesla, Polestar, and Mahindra), Toyota is currently the best-selling new vehicle brand so far this year.
The January VFACTS report shows 14,310 Toyota deliveries, and 7692 Mazdas, for second place. BYD was at 5001 units for the month, resting in sixth spot. Keeping in mind VFACTS counts new registrations and not new orders or signed deals.
February VFACTS was no different, with Toyota landing at the top with 13,606 deliveries, and Mazda in second with 7042 deliveries. BYD climbed to 5323 units, enough for sixth place again (excluding Tesla).
With up to 900 orders per day for at least the past couple of weeks, BYD is expected to climb the charts quite rapidly over the next few months. Depending on how quickly it can deliver these new orders, it could become the best-selling brand, overtaking Toyota, by around June or July.
Most of rush is said to be caused by the ongoing war and subsequent fuel price crisis, which is seeing many Aussie motorists making the switch from petrol and diesel vehicles to fully electric ones. Fuel prices have skyrocketed in the last few weeks, with some fuel stations advertising diesel at $3.23/litre. BYD only sells electrified vehicles, either full EV or hybrid.
Looking at the data, it looks like the Sealion 7 electric SUV is receiving the highest demand, followed by the Atto 2. Shark 6 numbers are more modest in comparison to the other two, at least for March. The ute is still likely to post big figures by the time VFACTS is out.
Other brands that focus heavily on EVs are expected to experience significant growth over the next few months as well, in terms of new-vehicle deliveries. The next VFACTS report, for March, will be released between April 4-6.
