BYD ANNOUNCES PRICES FOR EUROPEAN AND UK THREE-CAR LAUNCH

Chinese EV manufacturer BYD has announced its pre-sale prices for the three EV models that it will launching into the European and UK markets before the end of 2022.

Although not a name that is familiar to UK car buyers, BYD Auto Co Ltd (the initials standing for ‘Build Your Dreams’) was founded in 2003 and is now the fourth largest Battery Electric Vehicle company in the world with a 7% market share. The company’s sales are currently focused on mainland China and it expects to sell up to 2 million EVs in 2022, more than triple its sales in 2021.

For the European markets, BYD is launching three models; the HAN, the TANG and the ATTO 3. All three vehicles will be presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 2022.

The BYD ATTO 3 is an SUV bult on the company’s e-Platform 3.0. The car is supplied with a 60.8 kWh battery which provides a WLTP range of 260 miles. The ATTO 3 is pre-sale price is indicated as €38,000 (£34,000) and ‘combines aesthetics, intelligence and efficiency with an array of safety features including the Blade battery’ according to BYD.

The BYD HAN is a sporty sedan that has two electric motors to provide an AWD system. The manufacturer claims that the HAN will offer 516bhp, providing a 0 – 100km/h time of under four seconds. The indicated pre-sale price is €72,000 (£65,000).

Completing the trio of new product offerings is the BYD TANG, a seven-seater, all-wheel-drive SUV which was previously trialled in the company’s test market of Norway. The TANG will be offered at a similar price to the HAN – around €72,000.

BYD Global Designer Wolfgang Egger explained that the company’s design is based on both Chinese mythology and European sports cars.

“The BYD design is expressive and emotional, as well as clean and relevant,” said Wolfgang Egger. “Designing BYD HAN and TANG we were inspired by the dragon face, a string character in Chinese culture, and with BYD HAN, with the beauty of a European sports car. Furthermore, we strived to create a clean 3D-like feeling with a classic edge.

“For the design of the BYD ATTO 3 we wanted to create a very fresh, spacious and youthful feeling to attract young people and families. Once again, we were inspired by the Chinese dragon, which we call the Dragon Face Design language.”

All BYD cars will be offered with an 8-year battery warranty and can be expected to be seen on UK roads before the end of 2022.