BYD initially launched as an all-electric vehicle (EV) brand in Australia, but the Chinese auto brand has attracted more demand for its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models as it continues to expand its lineup.
Speaking with CarExpert, BYD Australia chief operating officer Stephen Collins said the split between the company’s PHEV and EV sales is currently around 60:40, largely due to the Shark 6 dual-cab PHEV ute.
“If you take the holistic business, the last number I saw was about 60 per cent plug-in hybrid, but a lot of that this year has been driven by [the] Shark,” Mr Collins said.
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“But we’ve got [the] Sealion 7 [mid-size electric SUV] which has been the biggest-selling EV now for the last few months that’s really dominating, particularly with novated leasing. [Those numbers] are going to change a little as we go into different segments.”
BYD Australia chief product officer, Sadid Hasan, added that the brand’s current sales mix and changing market conditions is also influencing its future model strategy – naturally, skewing to PHEVs.
“I think what we’ll see in the short-term is more of an emphasis in rolling out plug-in hybrids, but we’ll continue to add EVs along the way and we’ll be monitoring the entire market take-up, and seeing what is the appropriate product and when is the appropriate time to roll it out,” Mr Hasan said.
That strategy is abundantly clear in the brand’s next round of product launches – of the six new models launching across the BYD and upcoming Denza premium brands between November and early 2026, four will be PHEVs.
Of these four new models – all of which are SUVs of some kind – two will be BYD-branded cars in the new Sealion 5 and Sealion 8, while the Denza B5 and B8 are larger off-road SUVs. All will take the Chinese brand into new territory within the Australian market landscape.
The other two BYD models to be launched soon will be the Atto 1 electric hatchback and the Atto 2 small electric SUV, which will both be here within the next month or so.
BYD has been making a big impact on the Australian sales charts, finishing in sixth place overall in August and September with 5084 registrations (up 178.4 per cent), and is currently sitting in eighth place year-to-date (up 149.8 per cent).
The Chinese brand’s top-seller thus far in 2025 remains the Shark 6, which hit the market running but has come off the boil a little since then, with 14,111 deliveries to September this year.
Following not too far behind is the Sealion 7, which at 8483 units so far this year hasn’t quite caught up to the Shark 6, but has been neck and neck with the popular Tesla Model Y over the past few months in the battle for the title of Australia’s favourite EV.
The third most popular BYD model so far this year the plug-in hybrid Sealion 6 medium SUV, which has managed to find 6793 new Australian homes in its first full year on sale.
Should BYD Australia’s sales momentum continue, it hopes to be a top-three auto brand here by the end of 2026, leapfrogging the likes of Kia, Mazda and Hyundai, as well as fellow Chinese brands GWM, MG and Chery, as part of its plan to move from being a ‘new challenger brand’ to a ‘mainstream player’.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for more BYD news and reviews in the coming weeks.
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