Toyota warns BYD of the dangers of "blind ambition" as the Chinese electric car brand vows to top the Australian sales chart by 2030

Toyota Australia has issued a warning to Chinese carmaker BYD over its plans to be the number-one brand in Australia by 2030.

Last week, BYD opened a new service centre in Sydney, and made the bold claim that, by 2025, it would be a top-five brand in Australia, and that it would be number one by 2030 – if not sooner.

"From where we started 18 months ago, we had one vehicle here, the Atto 3, to where we stand today with three vehicles, and by the end of next year we'll have five vehicles, two of which will be in the key segments of mid-size SUV and ute," EVDirect's Luke Todd told media.

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"So our target is being a top-five brand somewhere within 2025, and then to continue to grow beyond 2026. We believe that's firmly achievable with the product range we have, the success of the Atto 3, the price point of the Dolphin and the Seal, and the interest we've had.

"So we've been very successful in the first 18 months, but with our trajectory, we believe we will continue to grow very strongly."

Asked if the Chinese challenger will take on the number-one spot from Toyota in 2030, Mr Todd replied "earlier than that" before pointing that his plug-in hybrid vehicles were electric-vehicle based, rather than ICE.

"What we are introducing next year is the new DMI technology as well, which is hybrid vehicles as nobody's seeing yet in Australia," he said.

Toyota has sold 195,959 vehicles in Australia so far this year.

"A hybrid typically that's on sale with our competitors across Australia at the moment is a petrol vehicle that's had a battery introduced to it. BYD has a state-of-the-art technology, which is called DMI, which is Dual Motor Intelligence.

"That technology gets introduced early next year, and that will catapult us into a wider audience segment and that's why we believe will be strong."

But Toyota used the prototype launch of the Toyota Tundra to respond, suggesting the Chinese brand might be confusing "good vision" with "blind ambition".

"It's a very competitive market and we are very respectful of course of our competitors. But our product offering in the market's very good. Our brand trust is extremely high. We've been doing this a long time at Toyota," Toyota's sales and marketing chief, Sean Hanley, told CarsGuide.

BYD has sold 10,975 vehicles in Australia so far this year. (Image: Tom White)

"We never take our position for granted, and we never believe it's a right to be number one.

"We think that, through the combination of our dealer network who do a supremely good job for us, and our product offering in the future, and our multi-pathway strategy, we're very confident in our volumes going forward.

"I always think it's good to be ambitious in this industry. I guess the only question is whether it's good vision or blind ambition."

For the record, Toyota has sold 195,959 vehicles in Australia so far this year. BYD has shifted 10,975 cars.