2026 BYD M9 Reviews

BYD has smashed through a sales milestone. The brand said it has made more than 50 per cent of its total revenue from export markets, rather than from its domestic sales in the Chinese market. This is due to BYD’s efforts in the last several years growing both its exports and its overseas manufacturing efforts in order to escape a stagnant Chinese new car market, which has contracted after a long period of explosive growth. The brand’s sales in China declined by 12 per cent, but it grew its exports by a whopping 137 per cent, to well over half a million units, according to BYD’s third quarter numbers for 2026. The Chinese market has reached a level of saturation and stagnation after several years of a bruising price war, which many competitors have pointed the finger at BYD’s aggressive domestic pricing strategy, overseas markets have become a crucial battleground for their future growth aspirations. Profit margins on vehicles sold in Australia, Europe and South America are exponentially higher than cars sold domestically in China. This is part of the reason sticker prices in the Chinese market are significantly lower than those we see in other markets. Price tags for the Australian vehicles generally attract a 15 - 20 per cent premium over the equivalent spec offered in China. Part of this will be down to right-hand drive conversion costs, and higher compliance costs for vehicles to meet Australia’s notoriously strict design standards and high bar for a maximum five-star ANCAP score. One analyst, as quoted in Nikkei Asia’s analysis of BYD’s latest sales numbers, said the company earns “roughly 10 times more profit per vehicle abroad than in China”. A part of this is vehicles sold in developed markets like Australia are offered in higher trim levels than they are in the Chinese domestic market, although the slew of larger, more expensive 4WDs and growth of luxury sub-brands like BYD’s Denza or Geely’s Zeekr are also massively helping to buff profit margins. GWM proclaims that it has doubled its average sale price in the last seven years in Australia as it has introduced pricier, better-featured vehicles, both from its Haval SUV brand and its Tank off-road brand further up the price scale. “The year-on-year increase in volume has also come with new cars at more expensive price points. If we can do that at the same time as showing customers value no matter the price then we’re on the right track." the brand’s Executive General Manager of Marketing and Communications Steve Maciver told CarsGuide recently. GWM is set to introduce its dedicated luxury arm Wey into Australia before the end of 2026. While Chinese brands continue to dominate the sales charts in Australia, where the barrier to entry is significantly lower, automakers like BYD, Geely, and Chery are facing tariffs in Europe and the USA as those jurisdictions move to protect their own domestic automaking capabilities. This is putting a cap on their respective ambitions, but each brand is also moving to diversify and acquire manufacturing capacity not only across Europe, but also in other strategic markets like South Korea and closer to home in South East Asia. Legacy automakers are feeling the crunch. Domestically this means household names like Subaru and Nissan dropping out of the race to be a top-10 automaker by sales, but internationally it means a massive squeeze in profit margins, big expenditure in research and development, and a large reduction in market share. This has resulted in many large international brands like Volkswagen and Nissan resorting to closing factories or cutting jobs by the thousands, with some brands needing to embrace Chinese joint-venture partnerships more closely to build more competitive models for export. Nissan, for example, shut down its historic Oppama factory in Japan as part of its Re:Nissan business overhaul, as it looks to reduce its capacity by a million units. As of the end of September 2026, the top-10 rankings in Australia are: Toyota (152,944 units) BYD (76614 units) Ford (61104 units) Kia (60800 units) Mazda (58865 units) Hyundai (56009 units) GWM (44959 units) Tesla (41705 units) Chery (38022 units) MG (36832 units)

BYD’s ultra-luxury YangWang division has teased an upcoming flagship sedan, in an unprecedented move for the brand. The teaser image reveals an ultra-luxury sedan, complete with hints of rear-hinged ‘suicide’ doors, a two-tone paint scheme and much more traditional design cues. A translation of the post has Yangwang promising the sedan will “outline the grandeur of the East” and will be an “ultra-luxury executive flagship sedan.” The new model will sit above YangWang’s existing line-up of non-SUVs, including the U7 four-door GT and U9 hypercar. It will debut in the United Arab Emirates in November of this year, according to Chinese media. The same outlets also say the sedan will be five and a half meters long and cost in excess of two million RMB (A$430,000). It is understood BYD is plotting a market entrance for YangWang in Australia, and has previously brought Chinese-market examples of the U9 and U8 SUV Down Under as a preview of what to expect in the future. In fact, the U8 recently appeared in government approval documentation for our market, equipped with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and four electric motors, producing a combined 880kW. Torque is yet to be revealed, but in China it produces more than 1280Nm. For now, BYD’s local spokespeople are quiet on the timing for the launch of the YangWang brand locally. The brand sits above the already-established luxury Denza marque, although it is unclear at this stage what branding the models will wear. The flagship sedan has a distinctly lower likelihood of an Australian launch given how small the demand for sedans is locally, it should showcase impressive drivetrain and interior tech for the brand. It is, of course, expected to be able to fully utilise BYD’s ‘flash charging’ technology, and could even debut solid state battery tech for the brand. At the rear its styling is reminiscent of category stalwarts like the Bentley Flying Spur, while the overall silhouette and blocky face feels as though it could have been influenced by Jaguar’s upcoming and highly controversial Type 01 GT. Meanwhile, the teaser and official camouflage images clearly show the brand’s signature headlight profile, also seen on the U8 SUV. Expect to learn more about YangWang’s new flagship at its November reveal.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles, or PHEVs, are exploding in popularity in Australia as better value models flood in, but a new report claims this particular type of electrified vehicle is six times worse for the climate than official numbers suggest. The report from Transport & Environment, a Brussels based advocacy group for clean energy, says the gap between official WLTP emissions numbers and those assessed in the real world is rapidly expanding, despite more recent plug-in hybrid models focusing on pure electric driving range. Transport & Environment says data collected by the EEA (European Environment Agency) on real-world emissions for PHEVs proves the technology is almost as bad as emissions from petrol and diesel cars, offering just a 14 per cent emissions reduction against an 83 per cent reduction claim according to official WLTP numbers. The reason, the group says, is because a focus on heavier cars with bigger batteries and longer electric driving ranges did not correlate to better emissions performance, with the best indicator instead being the power of the electric motor. In the study, plug-ins with electric motors 25 per cent more powerful than their combustion engines cut real-world emissions by a third, and up to 20 per cent even when the battery was drained. Transport & Environment concluded the ‘utility factor’ correction applied in European emissions rules encouraging automakers to increase battery size to reduce official emissions numbers fails to account for the fact that PHEVs are only driven, on average, 27 per cent of the time in fully electric mode. This means the rest of the time, when the battery is discharged, the engine must work harder to drag around the larger battery, skyrocketing the car’s real-world emissions. The group argues that amending these concessions to the official number to account for this would encourage automakers to improve drivetrain efficiency rather than simply increase battery size. Lucien Mathieu, cars director at Transport & Environment, went so far as to say: “A decade after Dieselgate, it is outrageous that Europe is once again debating whether to keep using misleading emissions to sell cars. “The European Parliament and Council have a clear choice, protect drivers’ wallets or allow carmakers to continue lying to consumers.” This matters in Australia, as automakers rely on the same official emissions numbers to comply with our market’s recently-introduced emissions regime, the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). The rules crack down on a car’s official CO2 numbers, imposing fines on automakers whose fleets exceed thresholds similar to those in the European Union. As a result, a flood of new plug-in hybrids at more competitive price points have been rushed to the Australian market, from ultra-affordable options like the new BYD Atto 2 DM-i (from $24,990) to the ultra-mainstream Toyota RAV4 PHEV (from $59,515). Plug-in hybrid tech is seen as the future of the ever-popular ute segment, which is more ill suited to full EV technology due to the weight of batteries limiting payload and towing capacity. To that end, BYD’s Shark 6 has single-handedly caused a technology shift in the segment, introducing plug-in hybrid technology to the historically diesel-dependent sector. In an attempt to cash-in on the runaway success of the Shark 6, many automakers are plotting PHEV utes and large off-road SUVs for our market, including the much-hyped Nissan Frontier Pro and intriguing Chery Stockman, which uses new diesel plug-in tech. Whether European emissions laws will be amended following these revelations remains to be seen, as Australia’s NVES regime is largely based on established Euro rules.

BYD has taken the Australia market by storm in 2026, but it’s come with more scrutiny for the brand as it targets top spot. The brand has come under fire from several national-level stories in 2026, but Collins said BYD expected and was prepared for the extra scrutiny. “I think with success comes scrutiny and that’s fine,” Collins told CarsGuide. “We want to be a good corporate citizen, and with scrutiny comes improvements and that’s important for us.” This follows high-profile coverage of controversies for BYD, including an extensive report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners program in September 2026. Collins said the increased public and media attention reflects the brand’s success, but its perception ultimately rests with buyers. “Our job is to bring BYD’s best global technology and value for money cars to the market, and in the end, the customers decide,” Collins told CarsGuide. BYD has been a distant second to Toyota in 2026, despite its record-breaking year on the sales charts, but this hasn’t stopped Collins from aspiring to take out the number one spot. BYD came close to toppling Toyota in June 2026, when it sold 18,881 units compared to the Japanese giant’s 19,124. Toyota held just 0.2 per cent lead over BYD on market share. June proved to be the perfect storm for BYD with a shipment of nearly 5000 vehicles arriving. Buyers were seeking an electric solution to the fuel crisis, while Toyota was also suffering a sales slump as it awaited the new generation of its hugely popular Toyota RAV4 to hit showrooms. Collins said that getting BYD’s “ecosystem” in Australia right will be crucial to its pursuit of top honours, but viewed Toyota as an example to follow. The ecosystem refers to the full package, from entering the showroom to servicing and ensuring buyers return the next time they want a car. “I think the ecosystem is really important and we’ve got an eye on retention of customers as well,” Collins told CarsGuide. “We know that the good brands, and Toyota is the best at it and have been for many, many years and there’s a good reason for that. “We know that they’re the benchmark, so we’ve got a way to go but we have a very clear vision on what we need to do. “Anyone in anything, sport or whatever it may be would always aspire to be number one and if you're not driven like that in such a competitive market, there's a problem.” A Four Corners report showed functions like headlights and wipers on a Shark 6 ute being remotely controlled by a hacker. It prompted an extensive internal investigation from the brand, concluding that while the Shark 6 was hacked, to do so required prior physical access to the car. BYD said it was working on an over-the-air update to rectify the issue and will continue to develop any necessary fixes. The ABC also covered sections of BYD’s privacy policy that referred to data collection in connection with "suspected illegal or improper activities" and that this could be done through "surveillance activities", but these references were swiftly removed. A spokesperson for BYD Australia told CarsGuide at the time that it "strenuously denied” any inference policy changes were made as a result of the investigation. The Sealion 5 mid-size SUV became the first BYD model that failed to achieve a five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety rating. ANCAP independently purchased Sealion 5 models to conduct testing, awarding it a three-star rating. ANCAP’s Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg said BYD did not put the Sealion 5 for testing. “BYD is leaving a noticeable mark on the Australian and New Zealand new car markets, quickly rising to become Australia’s second highest-selling brand since its arrival in 2022,” Hoorweg said.  “Since then BYD has been, and continues to be, proactive in bringing forward models for ANCAP testing. “However, the Sealion 5 was a model the brand hadn’t actively pursued for testing, and was subsequently selected by ANCAP to ensure consumers have a clear picture of its safety performance.”

BYD has surged up the sales charts, but its Australian Chief Operating Officer Stephen Collins is now turning his attention to an area other brands are lagging behind in. The brand has announced an extensive after-sales revamp, confirming more than 580,000 of parts are stored in Australia, allowing it to fill 95 per cent of dealer orders locally.  BYD doesn’t just want parts to be more accessible and delivered faster. It’s also targeting a less than seven-day wait to book a service. “I think it’s a big part of the whole ecosystem that BYD is investing in. Some other brands, I won’t name them, but you probably know them, are lagging behind in this area,” Collins told CarsGuide.  “We know that some brands are way beyond that , and we think that’s just not acceptable.” The brand has opened up a parts facility in Melbourne that houses parts across 15,000 square metres and is staffed by a team of 40 people.  It’s by far BYD’s biggest parts warehouse to date, and is designed to help with speedy delivery times to dealers.   The Chinese giant said it can deliver parts to local dealers within 24 hours or at most one week for remote and rural areas.  Most interstate deliveries should take two or three days, according to BYD.  Collins said these moves are designed to build trust with existing customers and future buyers.  “I think it’s just a basic requirement and expectation for customers when you get your car serviced or something goes wrong, we have the parts available, we have the service bays available,” Collins told CarsGuide.  A report from the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) in July 2026 revealed long car repair wait times.  Dealers admitted customers, especially EV owners, can face delays of between six and eight weeks for an issue just to be diagnosed due to workshop backlogs.  The report went on to read that some manufacturing faults can even take months or years to be correctly diagnosed.  Dealers have been refusing to accept tow-ins or diagnostic work for cars not originally sold in that specific showroom.  Some dealers pointed the finger at car manufacturers for slow resolution times to faults for customers.  Collins said BYD’s decision to announce these initiatives wasn’t driven by the findings in the AADA report, nor any other political factors.   “We made the decision well before that ,” Collins said.  “We took over from an independent distributor in July last year . Before that time, we’d already made these investment decisions. “It was very much a part of our longer term strategy not driven by any pressure or any political pressure.”

BYD’s answer to the G-Wagen could be on its way to Australia. BYD sub-brand Yangwang's U8 ultra-luxury 4WD has just been approved for sale in Australia as the new brawler gears up to tackle the high-end segment. The U8 measures up at 5319mm long, making it substantially longer than the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series (4980mm). It's a rival to the Range Rover ($281,527) and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class ($214,900), both before on-road costs. Yangwang is BYD’s luxury sub-brand, meaning it will likely be the brand's most expensive model to date. Government documents show the U8 will use a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, making 145kW, and an electric motor set-up. The U8 is a range-extender hybrid, so the engine exclusively powers the battery, while four electric motors drive the wheels to produce 880kW. This range-extender set-up is more powerful than the recently announced Geely Battleship 700's tri-motor plug-in hybrid system that produces 830kW. BYD hasn’t revealed the official torque figure, but it’s expected to be mega, because in China it registers more than 1280Nm. The U8 has a rugged four-wheel-drive system and sturdy ladder-frame chassis, riding on either 20-inch or 22-inch wheels. It can tow the industry standard 3500kg with a braked trailer and 750kg unbraked. At this stage, the U8 will only be available in a five-seater configuration Down Under. There is no news on the size of the U8's battery, but it’s equipped with a 49kWh unit in China. This offers an electric-only driving range of 180km, according to generous CLTC standards. Aussie buyers can expect the U8's total range figure to be more than 800km in the real world when it gets here. BYD has featured the U8 in a range of high-profile stunts, including a bizarre test where it dropped tree trunks onto the roof of the 4WD. Sales approval documents don’t always confirm a car will go on sale in Australia, but it dramatically increases the likelihood of it arriving here. Gaining Australian Design Rule (ADR) approval is expensive, so it’s rare for a brand to go through this process and then not sell the car. It’s unclear exactly when the U8 will land in Australia, however, it could be in 2027 as Yangwang’s first model offered here. A spokesperson for BYD Australia declined to comment about the Yangwang brand and the U8’s potential Aussie future. We won’t get an indication on Aussie pricing until closer to the U8’s arrival, but it starts from roughly 1.1 million yuan in China, which is about A$235,000. Cars imported from China to Australia are more expensive when they get here, so it could be closer to the $300,000 mark. This means it will be substantially more expensive than Geely’s Battleship 700 that is expected to sit in the $70,000 - $100,000 range.

For over a decade we’ve been told the sedan is dying. Sales have declined, the amount of options available has dwindled and buyers continue to gravitate to SUVs and utes. And yet, the sedan survives. But not just survive, new models are now arriving and sales for the total mid-size sedan market have been on the rise in 2026. Mid-size sedans, both mainstream and luxury, are up 18 per cent year-to-date to the end of September. Geely is the latest brand to believe there is a future for sedans, confirming the new Emgrand L plug-in hybrid will arrive in Australian showrooms next year to compete against the likes of the Tesla Model 3, BYD Seal and Mazda 6e. Despite the relatively-fresh competition and the recent sales growth, sedan sales are still amongst the smallest in the country. The best-selling sedan is the Toyota Camry, with 9471 sales to the end of September, which compares to 31,209 sales for the Toyota RAV4 mid-size SUV. Geely Australia’s Director of Product Planning and Marketing, Andrew Tuitahi, said the brand is confident there will be buyers looking for an SUV alternative. “When it comes to Emgrand L EM-i that's designed to target a slightly different market, but we think there is an opportunity for a more traditionally styled sedan with high technology and alternate fuel offerings,” Tuitahi said. “There's a lot of metrics and a lot of research that we've conducted,” he added. “Certainly the response from customers is positive. The response from dealers is positive. And there are absolutely buyers who don't want to drive an SUV. They want something that looks a little bit more conventional, and they like that style of sedan.”  “ I think we'll put together a package and share it when we launch Emgrand. But certainly there is a buyer profile demographic that is finding sedans appealing,” he said. Looking at the latest sales figures there is a growing market for electric and plug-in hybrid sedans, led by the likes of the Tesla Model 3, BYD Seal and Seal 6 as well as the new Mazda 6e. All of those models have grown in volume in the first three quarters of 2026, although the Seal 6 and Mazda and both all-new models, so any sales would be incremental volume. While they have grown, that is from a small base and overall sales remain relatively small. Tesla has sold 5775 examples of the Model 3, which is a seven per cent increase on 2025, but that figure is dwarfed by the combined 35,930 sales of the Model Y and Y L. BYD has sold a combined 4727 Seal EV and Seal 6 PHEV sedans (and wagons), which does mean that two of the three best-selling sedans are electric, suggesting there is a demand from customers for efficient vehicles outside of the SUV market. However, it isn’t a large demand with the rest of the market contributing a combined 27,805 total mid-size sales, which is less than the RAV4 has managed on its own - just to underscore the dominance of SUVs. Kia’s EV4 has managed just 361 sales, the Skoda Octavia 340 and the MG MG7 only 230. Even the once popular premium sedans, including the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Class are down significantly in 2026. So, while Geely is confident there are buyers for the Emgrand L, and Tesla, BYD and Mazda are managing to make sedans work for them, the cold, hard fact remains that the traditional ‘four-door’ is unlikely to become a mainstream choice again for Australians. Sedans aren’t dead yet, but anyone expecting a resurgence shouldn’t be.

Aussie car buyers have plenty of affordable EV choices in Australia. From hatchbacks to city SUVs, there are now several compelling options around the $30,000 mark. The BYD Atto 1 compact SUV became the cheapest new car on sale in Australia, while the Geely EX2 hatchback has had a surging start on the sales charts. Other competitors include the GAC Aion UT hatch and the incoming Leapmotor B03X small SUV, which provide buyers with some further thinking to do. Here is how the four stack up on the numbers. The Atto 1’s $19,990 (drive-away) price tag isn’t just the cheapest on this list, it’s the cheapest new car currently on sale in Australia. This deal does run out in December, when it will revert to $23,990. The premium grade of the Atto 1, which adds a bigger 43kWh battery with 310km WLTP range, starts from $27,990 (before on-road costs), which is on par with its rivals. The B03X starts from $29,990 (drive-away), making it the cheapest small electric SUV in Australia. Geely’s EX2 entered the Australian market in July 2026 at $26,490 (before on-road costs), which pushes the final drive-away price closer to $30,000. GAC’s Aion UT is available from $31,990 (drive-away), but the new Chinese brand will add a cheaper standard range variant in December, 2026. The MG4 Urban hasn’t been included in this list, but the electric hatch is currently available from $29,990 (drive-away) until October 31, courtesy of a $2000 cashback offer. The Aion UT’s single electric motor produces 150kW and 210Nm, edging out the B03X’s 130kW and 200Nm. Geely’s EX2 produces 85kW/150Nm - closely rivalling the Atto 1’s 65kW/175Nm. The EX2 stands out with a rear-wheel-drive configuration, potentially providing an on-road edge over its front-wheel drive rivals. The Aion UT’s 60kWh battery trumps the rest of the competition, offering a driving range of 430km, however, the incoming and cheaper short range Aion UT will only offer 320km from a 44kWh unit. The EX2 has a 35kWh unit with 280km, close to the B03X (292km from 40kWh) and besting the Atto 1 (220km from 30kWh). Inside the cabin, the Aion UT and the Leapmotor B03X have 14.6-inch central touchscreens and 8.8-inch digital drivers displays, but the former boasts synthetic leather seats as standard, instead of fabric. The EX2 also has synthetic leather seats as standard, but a smaller 12.3-inch central touchscreen and 8.0-inch digital driver display. The Atto 1 has a 10.1-inch central touchscreen and 5.0-inch digital driver display, with fabric seats as standard. As an SUV, the B03X has 1325L of storage space, including a 105L storage area under the main boot. The EX2 offers an impressive amount of storage space for a hatch, with 1320L, which includes a 70L front storage space. The Atto 1 still has 1037L, despite being the smallest car in this comparison. The Aion UT provides 689L of total cargo when the rear seats are folded, but this is noticeably less than the rest of the pack. The Atto 1 is the smallest car of the pack, with Aion UT longer than the EX2 and the same length as the B03X. The Aion UT is also the widest of the cars and has the longest wheelbase. The B03X is the only SUV here and is naturally taller than its hatchback rivals. The Atto 1 and EX2 were awarded a five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety ratings. The Atto 1 performed well in crash testing, with 82 per cent adult protection and 86 per cent child protection. ANCAP assessed the EX2 using its new ‘Stages of Safety’ criteria. Features like its driving monitoring system and adaptive cruise control guided the EX2 to a 79 per cent safe driving rating. It rated crash avoidance at 72 per cent, and overall crash protection at 86 per cent. The GAC Aion UT also received five stars and performed well in all categories. The Leapmotor B03X remains untested by ANCAP, but it has a suite of active safety features, including auto emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. The Aion UT wins the warranty battle, with an eight-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty for both the car and its high-voltage battery. The EX2 also has a strong warranty guarantee, with seven years/unlimited kilometres for the car and eight years for its high-voltage battery. The Atto 1 and B03X are offered with similar warranties. Both guarantee six years or 150,000km, and an eight-year or 160,000km battery warranty. BYD does further guarantee the Atto 1’s battery will still have at least 70 per cent after eight years. The Atto 1, EX2 and B03X all need to be serviced every 12 months or 20,000km, while the Aion UT is every 12 months or 15,000km.

Physical buttons are making a return to cars around the world, but the Chinese government is taking it a step further. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has filed proposals to mandate physical buttons and switches for critical car functions. Multimedia screens, large-area displays and complex head-up displays in cars must undergo mandatory safety checks under the proposals. These tests will measure the impact on driver distraction, reliability in extreme weather and crash performance. The rules take effect for new models from January 1, 2027, with existing models getting the same scrutiny from July 1, 2027. In February 2026, China overtook Japan as the biggest seller of cars in Australia. The China-built BYD Sealion 7 and Tesla Model Y have consistently been the two best-selling electric cars in Australia. They feature 15.6-inch and 16.0-inch central touchscreens, respectively. The Model Y’s screen controls virtually all functions, while the touchscreen in the Sealion 7 controls climate as well as vehicle and safety settings. Installing a large screen instead of a series of buttons and switches can save carmakers money. Housing features like this in a touchscreen increases driver distraction, with drivers needing to sift through menus instead of looking at the road. It arguably causes a similar distraction to using a mobile phone while driving, but using a big touchscreen isn’t illegal. These new rules will require key functionality to be controlled physically as opposed to being embedded in the in-car software. Buyers will see many of Australia’s most popular models adopt a new layout inside the cabin from 2027. Some brands have already started to reintroduce physical controls in the cabin in response to buyer feedback, including Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. The Chinese government is moving to prohibit “folding” or “flexible” screens inside the car. While there aren’t mass-production cars that have these styles of screen, some brands were developing plans to introduce them down the line. China is also banning the use of ‘zero-gravity’ seats while driving that have become hugely popular in luxury models. This feature enables a seat to recline back on a steep angle, while elevating the leg rest to distribute body weight evenly, hence ‘zero-gravity’. This poses dangers to passengers, because in the event of a sudden stop or a crash, they could slide under the seatbelt, and will also be misaligned with airbags. It comes after the Chinese government outlawed electrically-operated hidden door handles, in favour of manual emergency releases.

BYD has launched a new EV at the 2026 Paris Motor Show, but it’s one Australians might find a little familiar. The BYD Atto 8 launched this week is an electric version of the 2026 BYD Sealion 8 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) launched in Australia recently. Set to top the BYD range in Europe, the Atto 8/ Sealion 8 EV is the first in that market to feature cutting-edge ‘flash charging’. The new feature allows the large SUV to go from 10 per cent battery capacity to 97 per cent in just nine minutes, a feature yet to launch in Australia. BYD’s local arm told CarsGuide the Sealion 8 PHEV is, for now, the range-topper given how recently it launched, with no immediate plans to bring the EV version here. “We only launched Sealion 8 earlier this year and it’s ticking all the boxes for us at the moment so we’re not thinking too far ahead at this stage,” a BYD spokesperson said. The BYD Sealion 8 plug-in hybrid launched at the start of 2026 with a starting price of $56,990 before on-roads for its front-wheel drive base model, with a top-spec all-wheel drive grade at $70,990. In its home market of China, the Sealion 8 or Atto 8 is called the ‘BYD Tang L’ The base Atto 8 has a front-drive setup with 340kW and 365Nm, with a 115kWh battery and a WLTP range of 652km, while the top-spec AWD version has 570kW and 775Nm with a range of 602km but an impressive 0-100km/h sprint of 4.6 seconds. A huge 26-inch widescreen head-up display, a 15.6-inch central multimedia touchscreen, a 10.25-inch digital instrument display and a seven-seat layout with heating and cooling in the front two (outboard) rows join tri-zone climate control, dual wireless phone chargers, numerous USB-C ports and a front refrigerator/heating compartment. In each grade, the seat upholstery is all genuine leather. With “3000 stations to be installed across Europe by the end of 2027”, flash charging is about to become a much more common thing in the EU.  The system allows as much as 1500kW to juice the EV’s battery, in this case the Atto 8’s 115kWh battery, to near-full much faster than usual. In the Atto 8, this means 10 to 97 per cent in nine minutes, though in severely cold temperatures that normally limit charging the flash system still allows 20 to 97 per cent in 12 minutes, not bad. Just five minutes of charging is said to add 60 per cent (from 10 to 70 per cent) to the battery - all resulting in BYD’s line of ‘ready in 5, full in 9, cold add 3'.