BYD T3 Reviews

Chinese electric car maker BYD is following a secret five-year massive growth plan, which will see it sell half its vehicles overseas by 2030. This will make it a vehicle manufacturer on the same scale as Toyota and Volkswagen, according to a new report.The report by news outlet Reuters cites four people “familiar with the matter” who said BYD’s executives have committed to an ambitious strategy, which will see the electric vehicle brand undergo such an enormous output and sales increase that the company will rival even the world’s largest car manufacturers.BYD has just become the largest selling brand in its home country of China, overtaking Volkswagen last year with 4.27 million units sold.Last year BYD sold 417,204 vehicles overseas and this year the company plans to double that number to 800,000.  The Reuters report revealed BYD met privately with the company's investors to notify them of the growth plan, but it is not known if an actual 2030 predicted sales figure was disclosed.According to the insiders the way that the company wants to be able to achieve their grand plan is by localising production throughout the world. The plan outlines the need to have factories operating in Hungary, Uzbekistan, Brazil and Thailand in order to be able achieve its goal.BYD’s global growth plan will not include the United States, where recent high tariffs against Chinese carmakers have prevented the brand selling its cars there and made the company focus on Europe as the key to its success. Australia, too, will be part of BYD’s plan. Currently Australia doesn’t impose tariffs on Chinese carmakers and this combined with our fairly new and strong interest in electric cars has seen a multitude of Chinese brands arrive here offering what the established mainstream brands could not — very affordable electric cars.  This includes brands such as Geely, Zeekr, MG and Deepal.In April this year alone BYD sold 3207 in Australia, outstripping even Volkswagen with 2076 sales by an enormous margin. And all of BYD’s cars are electric or hybrids.BYD, which started as a battery maker before turning its hand to producing vehicles, arrived in Australia in 2022 with its first EV, the Atto 3 small SUV. The brand soon brought more vehicles to Australia including the Dolphin, Seal, Sealion 6 and Sealion 7 and the Shark 6. 

Why Toyota thinks it can keep its lead over BYD.

The BYD Sealion 6 is already Australia’s cheapest plug-in hybrid (PHEV), but it could soon get a new variant that increases the amount of electric-only range.According to government approval documents, a new version of the Sealion 6 is approved for sale in Australia to sit alongside the existing front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants.Dubbed the BYD Sealion 6 Dynamic Extended Range in the approval documents, it features the same 72kW petrol engine and 145kW front-mounted electric motor as the existing front-wheel drive Sealion 6 Essential. Total system output is 160kW of power.The big difference, however, is the high-voltage battery pack. The approval documents don’t specify an exact battery capacity, but the Sealion 6 Dynamic Extended Range is 53kg heavier than the Essential, with a tare mass of 1958kg.Given the extra heft and its name in the approval documents, it’s expected this new extended-range version has a larger battery pack.BYD already offers the Sealion 6 with a larger 26.6kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery in certain markets. For context, existing versions of the Sealion 6 have an 18.3kWh LFP battery.This version of the Sealion 6 is already on sale in the UK, which means the car is already being produced in right-hand drive.Thanks to the larger 26.6kWh battery pack, it gets a longer electric-only range of 125km, according to WLTP testing. With the regular 18.3kWh battery pack on the other hand, the car gets 80km of electric range, according to WLTP testing.With well over 100km of electric range, this version of the Sealion 6 has considerably more EV range than rivals like the Jaecoo J7 SHS and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.One of the few PHEVs with more electric range is the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV, which has a stonking 35.4kWh battery pack and an electric range of 180km, according to lenient NEDC testing.Beyond this, little else is confirmed about this new extended-range Sealion 6 in the approval documents. It has a braked towing capacity of 750kg and 19-inch alloy wheels.Although it’s called the Sealion 6 Dynamic Extended Range in the approval documents, it’s unclear whether it will actually launch in this trim level.BYD moved away from the Dynamic trim level name when it introduced the new entry-level Essential variant across a number of existing models like the Atto 3, Dolphin, Seal and Sealion 6.If BYD did reintroduce the Dynamic trim with this new extended range Sealion 6, it would sit between the existing Essential and Premium variants.These Sealion 6 variants are currently priced at $42,990 before on-roads and $52,990 before on-roads, respectively.We’ve reached out to BYD’s local distributor, EVDirect, about the prospects of this new Sealion 6 variant launching in Australia. We’ll update this story once we hear back.

Where on earth is the Toyota Tacoma for Australia?Designed and developed expressly for the North American market, the series has served for over 30 years as the slightly larger and more comfortable cousin to the venerable Toyota HiLux.In fact, the two medium-sized utes were closely related until very recently, even as the Tacoma grew larger and more sophisticated over three generations, where it became the best-selling vehicle in its pick-up segment in the United States – a position held since 2004.Unveiled in 2023, the latest version prompted a high level of anticipation from industry analysts, since it was also expected to become the replacement for the eighth-gen HiLux, which celebrates its 10 anniversary this month.After all, the Tacoma’s timing was spot-on, with the newly-redesigned Ford Ranger ending the Toyota ute’s seven-year reign at the top of the Australian sales charts that same year (and hit number one again in 2024).It doesn’t take too much to figure out why people remain excited about the prospect of a HiLux-badged Tacoma for our market.Key attributes include a formidable presence brought about by its chunky styling, a vast array of grades including a Raptor-aping TRD Pro, huge interior space, sizeable load area, massive step up in safety technology and the availability of a hybrid powertrain option.The Tacoma trails Australia’s 3500kg braked towing capacity maximum yardstick by around 500kg, based on corresponding Canadian figures.That would probably change for our market, especially when you consider that today’s Tacoma is based on the same Toyota New Global Architecture – Frame (TNGA-F) body-on-frame “truck” platform that also underpins the J300 LandCruiser and J250 Prado 4WD SUVs.It is that connection that prompted much speculation over when – rather than if – the Tacoma would arrive in Australia, albeit wearing HiLux badges and possibly having Thai sourcing. After all, if they’re that closely related, wouldn’t they have interchangeable parts with models already offered in this market?As it turns out, Toyota will instead offer three distinctly different medium-sized utes – and it seems Australia will again miss out on the Tacoma after all… or at least, for now.Though unconfirmed officially, we hear from an internal source that a facelifted version of the existing, decade-old Mk8 HiLux will spearhead Toyota’s fight against the Ranger, BYD Shark 6 and co. from next year in Australia.About the only part of the Tacoma – which will remain North American only for the time being – we may see is a variation of its 2.4-litre i-Force turbo-petrol/electric hybrid powertrain, as it has been rumoured to be added to the HiLux facelift, as Toyota Australia starts its move away from diesel.Finally, as outlined previously, Europe, Japan and other lower-carbon regions are set to score the production version of the EPU (Electric Pick-Up) Concept Ute electric vehicle from the 2023 Tokyo Mobility show, though that’s also mooted for Australia too, as a flagship HiLux EV.So, what’s holding the Tacoma back for us?Mainly, it is only produced in Mexico, with annual capacity of around 250,000. And that’s about how many are soaked up in North America alone.Secondly – and this is a major reason – the Tacoma is only currently manufactured in left-hand drive (LHD) guise. And changing that makes no business sense.Typically, engineering for right-hand drive (RHD) in any vehicle program can add hundreds of millions of dollars to costs, and that appears not to have happened in this case. And it's not likely to in the future.Why? Even if Toyota could sell over 50,000 utes annually to match HiLux’s efforts last year in Australia – and that would possibly make us the fictional RHD Tacoma's largest market globally – that’s not nearly enough production volume to recoup development costs.That was reportedly one of the driving forces behind General Motors killing Holden barely two years after local manufacturing ceased in 2017, as there just wasn’t enough volume to justify the expense of changing LHD vehicles over to RHD for Australia. Even for a colossus like Toyota.Additionally, while the UK is another big RHD ute market for the brand, shifting around 30,000 HiLuxes last year, that's still not enough volume, while the vast majority of South African and Thai ute sales - the two remaining big RHD countries – are for more-affordable and lower-spec models. And cheap is not what any TNGA-F vehicle is designed to be.That’s probably the reason why the Tacoma is not earmarked to be built in Thailand, for now anyway. The existing HiLux fills that role far better.Thirdly, should it be green lit for RHD, the Tacoma would also be too expensive even in Australia, anyway, given its Mexican sourcing.This means the cheapest grade would probably cost a lot more than the current most expensive HiLux out of Thailand does. Which, by the way, is also where the Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50, Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton also hail from, while the Shark 6, GWM Cannon, LDV Terron 9 and others from China cost even less for what they offer.Tacoma would have no hope matching their prices. The upshot here is that achieving something close to the current HiLux's 50,000 sales annually in Australia would be wildly optimistic as a result.Lastly, with Tacoma sales in the first quarter of 2025 up nearly 180 per cent year-on-year in the USA, there is no incentive for Toyota to compromise production capacity to accommodate the relatively small volume required for Australia.Of course, this could change with the US federal government’s tariffs on non-US made products, that might lead to big price increases for the Tacoma in its main market.While still highly unlikely, that might open the door for RHD exports should US Tacoma sales consequently collapse, though these are still early days.That’s a long shot, and it’s fair to assume that the only way Australians might be able to buy a reasonably-priced Tacoma is if Toyota decides to add production to Thailand, or some other lower-cost base than Mexico. Or follow the larger Tundra ute’s example by having it remanufactured from LHD to RHD in Melbourne.So, no Tacoma-based HiLux, then.Which is a shame, as a ute version of the latest Prado – which what the latest, N400 model essentially is, complete with an i-Force petrol-electric hybrid powertrain – would sound like the HiLux that Toyota should be offering to its fanatically loyal Australian customer base.Do you agree?

The BYD Sealion 7 was Australia's best-selling EV in April, marking the first time the brand has claimed the title since arriving locally in 2022.Last month, Australians bought 743 BYD Sealion 7s as opposed to 500 Tesla Model Ys (280) and Model 3s (220), which is Tesla's lowest monthly sales since August 2022, according to sales data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and Electric Vehicle Council.The result brings the Model Y's five-month consecutive lead as Australia's best-selling EV to an end, while marking only the second time since August 2022 a Tesla model hasn't claimed the title.BYD’s total sales were more than six times that of Tesla’s last month, making April the second consecutive month it has been a top-ten brand in Australia.More than a third of BYD’s sales (1293) came from the Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute, which has notched up 6129 sales so far this year.The new Kia EV5 (342) and Geely EX5 (324) also outsold the Model Y, which was Australia’s best-selling EV for the entirety of 2023 and 2024.Tesla’s Australian sales fell by a staggering 76 per cent last month compared to April the previous year as the brand's global quarter one profits nosedived by 71 per cent.Many have pointed the finger at the controversial politics of CEO Elon Musk, who has been overseeing the Trump Administration’s cost-cutting measures as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).The picture couldn’t look any different for BYD, which grew its global profits by 100.3 per cent in quarter one compared to the previous year. The vast majority of sales still come from its home market, though the brand plans to sell 800,000 cars overseas this year.Musk has said he will start returning his focus to Tesla this month as his work with DOGE concludes.A Wall Street Journal report that claimed the Tesla board was looking to oust the controversial figurehead was quickly shut down by the brand and Musk himself, who called the report an “EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS” on his social media site X (formerly Twitter).Tesla sales are expected to uptick next month as the brand officially changes over to its new Model Y. It promises more driving range and a slew of new updates, but whether it can regain the podium against a growing cohort of new Chinese and South Korean rivals is proving an uphill battle.*Best-selling electric-only models included

Geely is contemplating adding the Geome supermini/crossover electric vehicle to take on the BYD Dolphin and Hyundai Inster EVs in Australia, as well hybrids like the Toyota Yaris Cross and Subaru Crosstrek. If given the go-ahead, the keenly-priced, Kia Stonic-sized five-door Geome could land here with a mid-to-high $20,000 price tag, which could make it Australia’s cheapest new EV yet.

The recent Shanghai and New York motor shows demonstrated the increasing gulf between the surging Chinese car industry and the rest of the world.

As any brand not named Toyota will tell you, breaking into the upper echelon of Australia’s ute market is incredibly tough. Even the mighty Ford Motor Company, which invented the utility vehicle, took decades to crack the code and give the HiLux some serious competition.

Will the Geely Starship 7 be the brand’s second model for Australia? Essentially a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) version of the company’s EX5 EV released in the beginning of this year, the five-seater mid-sized SUV could arrive before the end of 2025, opening up the brand to a much wider audience. If given the green light, it would directly target the popular BYD Sealion 6 and Mitsubishi

BYD's factory-backed premium operation says it won't mirror its European roll-out.