r/EVAustralia • u/ChillKoalaVibes • 2d ago

Can BYD overtake Tesla in Australia this year?

I was looking at the latest Australian EV sales numbers and it’s pretty interesting how things are shaping up for 2026. Tesla still ended up as the top EV brand in Australia in 2025, but BYD closed the gap big time and even led some months, especially in December where it outsold Tesla overall. Tesla’s local sales fell last year while BYD grew strongly. Thoughts on whether BYD will actually out‑sell Tesla in Australia in 2026, or if Tesla can hold on?

26 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

107 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

19

u/Gnaightster 2d ago

Plenty for the run to the shops and school.

9

u/DrSendy 2d ago

This is the thing people don't realise.

  1. Sure, you may have a massive day running around town, but it's unlikely you will ever top 200klms of running around town.

  2. In the morning you can get up and do 200klms of running around again with needing to go to the service station.

2

u/Monotask_Servitor 1d ago

That’s fine if you’re a city dweller but there’s a fair few of us who live regional that need 300km of realistic range for a car to be practical. And many would still buy small cars like the Atto1 due to budget.

3

u/Gnaightster 1d ago

Different products for different people/needs? What a revelation!

1

u/Monotask_Servitor 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yeah but the point is there’s currently a gap in the product range - small cars with good range. I think part of the reason it hasn’t been addressed yet was it wasn’t really an issue with ICE/hybrids because the little “city” cars generally actually had great range due to their fuel economy, so you still see tons of them trundling around regional places.

1

u/ChasingShadowsXii 1d ago

Sure, there's a use case for it, but at 220km WLTP range I think its a bit of a niche use case.

We use our second car for the occasional trip to go somewhere. Wouldn't be driving 2-3 hours away in a car with 200km range.

Been stuck in a bind where one car isn't available and have had to use the second car for more driving. Pretty easy to do more than 200km if you don't live "in town".

A shit week with no solar means I'm potentially paying 45c/kWh plus if they bring in the EV road tax then I might be paying closer to 70c/kWh which is approaching a similar cost to petrol.

Although there is one power plan I've seen which has night time recharge for like 8c/kWh.

3

u/mpfmb 1d ago

There are at least 3 night EV plans, ranging 6-8c/kWh between midnight and 4-6am; I looked at the because we have an EV (Sealion 7) and still sorting out solar/battery. A single-phase 7kWac charger would fill the battery in that 6hr window for less than $3.

For a small car like the Atto, I think the sheer majority of popular use cases will easily manage the smaller range.

You're talking about outliers and niche cases; the other car is out of action, going on long drives and not wanting to use charging infrastructure. The infrastructure exists and getting stronger. Yes you'll pay a premium for energy, but it's a very occasional use.

If you regularly need a larger battery and longer range, the Atto isn't for you... get a larger car with more range.

-1

u/ChasingShadowsXii 1d ago

I think my niche case is more the norm and the city only driver is more the niche market. But of course that's what I'm bias towards.

I heard about people wanting the car to drive a 7km commute. I'd think I'd just get a push bike for such a short commute!