2023 BYD Atto 3 deliveries likely to resume after ‘easy fix’

Deliveries of the 2023 BYD Atto 3 electric car are currently paused in Australia due to compliance issues concerning the centre rear seat’s top tether anchor.

There is no visible top tether point for the middle back seat, which goes against Australian Design Rules (ADR) for new vehicles.

Wheels understands that the requisite top tether mounting is incorporated into the seat, but is hidden behind fabric of the backrest.

Addressing this should be a “simple, quick fix”, said the brand, and when we asked EV Direct CEO Luke Todd just how easy – referencing a Stanley knife – he suggested little more than “a Stanley knife with a very professional operator” is needed.

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Look closely and you can see the lack of centre top tether anchor

Todd assured Wheels that the Atto 3 would not end up in the same predicament as the Honda HR-V small SUV with its lack of centre rear seat top tether anchor seeing it only four-seat certified.

When will the Atto 3’s delivery pause end?

The issue is in the hands of the Department of Infrastructure and EV Direct. Both parties are working towards a solution that, allegedly, isn’t far away.

“When I can talk about it freely I'd love to give you the full details, but at the moment I want to respect the Department because we're talking behind closed doors”, Todd told Wheels.

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“We are compliant [with ADRs], we submitted our vehicle with an interpretation of the ADRs – a slightly different view – so fortunately, we have a very easy fix, it’s just a case of waiting for the Department to put it through."

When asked whether situations like this one and the moving goalposts of BYD’s servicing and warranty in Australia had affected public opinion, Todd replied: “It is a little embarrassing, but we are where we are and we’ve proactively decided to hold deliveries for a little while.”

When deliveries resume, what will sales look like?

Following the promised simple fix, Todd said with optimism that BYD has the capacity to build “3000 [Atto 3s] per month.

"Shipping restraints will probably bring us down to actually getting out 2000/month at the moment.”

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The BYD Atto 3 starts from $44,381 before on-road costs in Australia for a standard range model fitted with a 50.1kWh battery pack, 150kW/310Nm front motor and 345km WLTP driving range.

BYD will announce its sales figures for the first time in November’s VFACTs count that will be made public next week. Those numbers will give true insight into how successful the EV challenger brand’s launch has been.

“The feedback is, because everyone knows what this car is, they want to get their hands on the car. So of course we've got a few frustrated people who are just screaming down the door and want their car”, said Todd.

“But [BYD is] here for the long haul. We’re here for the next 100 years hopefully. So we don't want to do anything hastily”.