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BYD baby on price attack?
Richard Bosselman
October 7, 2025
The Atto 1 is coming, and with it lends chance for the Chinese make to upset the established creche of Kiwi-favoured small cars.
POTENTIAL what should be the cheapest new electric ever sold here might site just under $30,000 has not been clarified by its distributor.
The BYD 1 - aka the Seagull in China, Dolphin Mini/Surf in Europe and the United Kingdom - is a small city-tuned five-seater with driving range ratings based on the WLTP standard of 220km and 322km respectively, depending on what size battery it has to feed its a motor that makes either 65kW or 115kW, depending on trim.
It stands to be an ace card for the Chinese maker, not least if it can be the first electric here to achieve absolute price parity with a petrol equivalent.
In this case, that would be the Suzuki Swift, which has been firmly positioned as NZ’s top selling small car for years. It starts at $25,990 in manual and from $27,500 in automatic.
The Suzuki now sells with a hybrid 48 volt system but has no direct electric driving capability.
Also likely alternates relying on pump fuel are the $29,990 and up Mazda2 and the Toyota Yaris, which goes from $33,490.
At present the cheapest EV on the market is also from China.
The GWM Ora normally posts for $34,990, though at the start of the year it was subject to special pricing that has removed another $8k from that.
In terms of size, the Atto 1 is 3990mm long, 1715mm wide, 1590mm tall, and rides on a 2500mm wheelbase, placing around the same size as a Yaris.
BYD has confirmed Atto 1 is coming along with another like-shaped but still slightly electric hatch, the Atto 2, alongside two plug-in hybrid SUVs, the Sealion 5 and Sealion 8 DM-I.
The new wave of entries has announced as the brand ostensibly enters into period of having two distributors operating here.
There’s BYD NZ - operating since 2022 headquartered in Auckland as part of the Ateco Automotive brand hub - and BYD Australia and New Zealand, which bases in Melbourne but is directly owned by BYD and from next month will represent sale here of cars from BYD’s luxury arm, Denza.
An industry source close to the brand has related expectation of Atto 1 coming here for $29,990.
BYD NZ general manager Warren Willmot was tight-lipped about the car’s pricing or what benefits or otherwise he imagined might come from dual BYD representation.
“We appreciate … interest in BYD's developments in New Zealand. As with any new model launch and market structure, there is often industry speculation.
“We would like to clarify that details referenced regarding pricing and distribution arrangements have not been officially confirmed.”
He said all official information regarding model specifications, pricing, and “our distribution network will be communicated through our formal channels via press releases in due course.
“At this time, neither BYD Auto NZ nor BYD Australia and NZ PTY Ltd will be commenting further on these speculative points. We look forward to sharing confirmed details with you when the time is appropriate.”
In China, the BYD 1 sells for as little as $16,200 but the export version was never set to be that cheap, as it picks up a swathe of safety features that are either not standard, or simply not provisioned, in the China market.
The Chinese-market Seagull launched several years ago with no active safety technology, while some versions even lack front-side airbags.
An upgraded edition for global use revealed more recently.
Along with revised front and rear styling, what was called the Seagull Intelligent Driving Edition received a driver assistance package known as God’s Eye C, with features like adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist and rear cross-traffic assist.
The export model has that and a front-centre airbag.
Those features held in good stead with Europe’s equivalent of of own national safety auditor.
Last month Euro NCAP announced the model for the UK was worthy of a maximum five-star safety rating. There are instances when the Australasian NCAP adopts scores from Euro NCAP, a sister organisation, in preference to running its own tests.
The cheapest edition of the Atto 1 in China runs a 30.08kWh LFP battery that supports 30kW DC charging. Another type has a 38.88kWh LFP BYD Blade battery that supports 40kW DC charging.
In comment relayed to two NZ media outlets, Willmott has also suggested the Atto 2 (below) will also be useful here and is quoted as saying that “the expanded Atto line-up is all about breaking down barriers to EV ownership.”
BYD came into the market on roll with the Atto 3, which wasted no time in ramping up to be a popular buy for first time EV buyers looking for a budget car at time when switching across was also supported by a Government rebate.
That all ended in 2023, and since then Atto 3 has become one of many electrics that no longer raise much interest. BYD’s big push projects this year have been its plug-in hybrids, including the Shark 6 utility which has good months and bad.
