The best BYD Australia doesn't get? Chinese brand's flagship electric car updated for 2025 with Tesla-beating driving range

BYD has updated its flagship Han sedan, which still isn’t sold in Australia despite the brand's meteoric sales rise.

For 2025, the Han has received a deep facelift, the second on its current first-generation platform.

It brings significant upgrades for driving range and efficiency, higher-end autonomous driving features as well as tweaks to ride quality and sound deadening in the cabin.

For the first time the electric and plug-in hybrid (DM-i) versions have shared exterior styling, featuring new LED headlights and tail lights as well as a new bonnet shape said to reduce drag.

The Han also scores sporty black highlight pieces on the lower door sill, front and rear bumpers in a similar fashion to the Seal sedan which sits below it. Previously, the PHEV Han had a different face with a grille as opposed to the more sleek design of the EV.

Elsewhere, the Han scores new variable damping and re-worked rear suspension links said to improve ride quality and stability alongside greater sound deadening in the cabin.

The new-generation plug-in hybrid version uses an upgraded system, consisting of a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor, which is good for just 3.8L/100km of fuel efficiency and 125km of driving range on electric power, alone according to more lenient CLTC standards.

Meanwhile, the electric Han comes in three battery sizes, offering 506km of driving range in base form, 605km in mid-grade form or 701km of range in its top-spec form.

The top two grades offer 800-volt battery architectures, unlike the BYD products currently offered in Australia which only offer 400-volt systems.

The highest grades of both also get the brand’s new ‘DiPilot’ self-driving technology, which necessitates a roof pod for its Lidar systems.

The brand also adjusted pricing down for the Chinese market in order to better compete with an increasing range of luxury sedans from rival brands like Xpeng.

While the Han was spotted testing in Australia prior to the launch of its current range of EVs and PHEVs, the brand has more recently ruled out the flagship sedan, saying the Han’s older platform has not been developed for right-hand drive production.

Meanwhile, BYD’s efforts in Australia continue to pay dividends for its distributor, albeit at a lower rate of increase than previous months. The brand is up 3.5 per cent from last month, now controlling 4.6 per cent of the Australian market (6672 units) from zero this time last year.

However, it will face intense competition in late 2024 and early 2025 as a torrent of new Chinese brands arrive hoping to replicate its success. Prime among them are the EV-focused Xpeng, Zeekr and Leapmotor.

Perhaps setting BYD apart from these rivals will be its dual-cab ute, the Shark, which will become the first ute in Australia to use a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. It is set to arrive in Q1 of 2025.