BYD will start UK gross sales of its electrical Atto 3 mannequin within the coming weeks, following the appointment of 5 vendor companions.
The Volkswagen ID 3 and MG4-rivalling compact SUV is powered by a 60kWh battery, giving a spread of as much as 261 miles. It makes use of a 204PS electrical motor to energy the entrance wheels and has a claimed 0-62mph acceleration time of seven.3 seconds.
Pricing and specification particulars are but to be revealed, however the Atto 3 has been awarded a five-star Euro NCAP security ranking.
The primary appointed UK vendor companions will begin receiving automobiles, with gross sales commencing within the coming weeks.
Pendragon was the primary UK vendor to associate with BYD, asserting the tie-up in September final yr.
Arnold Clark was confirmed because the sole retailer of BYD fashions in Scotland, in December, after its shock exit from the Toyota and Ford retail networks.
Lookers and LSH Holdings have since been named as companions.
Michael Shu, normal supervisor and managing director of BYD Europe and Worldwide Cooperation Division, stated: “An important precept of the BYD technique is to work with the perfect companions. We have now chosen vendor teams with the experience and geographic footprint to offer excellent customer support. We are going to begin constructing the community in territories the place our companions are dominant and may finest reveal and show our vary of latest fashions. We stay up for working with our companions as we construct the BYD model within the UK.”
BYD doesn’t function underneath an company mannequin franchise settlement, echoing the extra conventional strategy taken by fellow market newcomer Nice Wall Motors’ Ora EV model, which has already been taken on by Peter Vardy and Wessex Garages.
BYD’s assistant normal supervisor for Europe, Brian Yang stated that the UK community would possibly face a problem to determine itself with only one automobile however added that state of affairs was unlikely to final for lengthy.
“Subsequent yr (2023) we’ll deliver a extra complete line-up,” he stated, “and all of these fashions can be made in right-hand drive.”
Among the many seemingly follow-up zero-emissions automobiles are a seven-seat SUV, known as Tang, and the Han saloon.
BYD has already launched throughout a number of European international locations, together with Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. Additional UK vendor companions, product, and pricing data can be confirmed within the coming weeks.