2026 BYD Seal 6 Reviews

BYD is recalling 32,009 examples of its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) dual-cab ute in Australia due to the potential abnormal wear of the spare wheel assembly.This recall affects BYD Shark 6 examples produced between August 29, 2024 and June 15, 2026.BYD has clarified that this recall doesn’t relate to all Shark 6 examples and only certain examples.“For involved vehicles, BYD has identified that in certain circumstances incorrect installation of the spare wheel, incorrect positioning of the spare wheel tray or insufficient fastening torque may cause abnormal wear of the spare wheel support cable,” said BYD Australia in its recall notice.“Continued movement and friction during vehicle operation may cause the cable to fail, resulting in spare wheel detachment.“This may create a hazard to other road users and potentially cause serious injury or death.”If you own an affected vehicle, BYD will replace the spare wheel lifter assembly with an updated design, free of charge.BYD estimates that this fix will take around 30 minutes, but this depends on the dealer’s work schedule.BYD Australia is urging Shark 6 owners that are affected by this recall to remove the spare wheel from their vehicle if they wish to continue driving it.The company will contact affected Shark 6 owners and provide details regarding the recall. It urges owners to keep their contact information up to date.This notification will come via an email, but customers with the BYD app may also receive a notification there.From here you will be prompted to contact your BYD dealer as soon as possible.If you have further questions, you can contact BYD Customer Care on 1800 888 298 from Monday to Friday 9:30am-5:30pm AEST.

BYD has made its electric car cheaper than any other vehicle on sale right now.The Chinese brand has slashed the price of its Atto 1 electric small hatchback to $19,990, drive-away. There is no end date to the offer at this point.BYD Australia’s Chief Operating Officer Stephen Collins said this would give more Australians a chance to access an electric car during an ongoing period of sky high fuel prices and a cost of living crisis."At a time when Australian families are carefully considering every household expense, we're committed to making vehicle ownership more attainable," said Collins."The BYD ATTO 1 at $19,990 drive-away demonstrates our commitment to delivering outstanding value without compromising on technology, safety or quality.”The deal only applies to the BYD Atto 1 Essential grade, which was previously priced at $23,990 before on-road costs.This means buyers are saving about $7000 off the full drive-away price.The Atto 1 is an urban-focused electric car, with a small 30kWh Lithium-Ferro-Phosphate (LFP) battery that delivers a modest driving range of up to 220km.It uses a single electric motor to make 65kW and 175Nm to drive the front wheels.It is a small unit, measuring 3990mm long, 1720mm wide, 1590mm high and it has a wheelbase of 2500mm.That puts it in the same ballpark as the Toyota Yaris and Mazda2 hatchbacks.The current cheapest cars are the petrol-powered Kia Picanto starting from $19,190, before on-road costs, and the the MG3 hatchback is also priced from $19,990, drive-away, for a limited time.

To be honest I didn’t think this would happen so fast but it really does appear the end is nigh for the internal combustion engine in Australia, because for the first time sales of electric cars have overtaken petrol ones. So how does Australia compare for EVs sales compared to the rest of the world? Australia is punching well above its weight. Australia is ranked high when it comes to EV sales compared to the world, but wait until you see how high.Australians bought 27,089 electric vehicles in August, which represent 24.9 per cent of the market. Not included in this are hybrids or plug-in hybrids, and that makes this number even more significant.In comparison the total sales of petrol cars in August, including light commercial vehicles, came to 25,824.August’s sales came off the back of a bumper July total of 23,510, but they weren’t the largest recorded - that claim to fame goes to June with 32,570 sales. August was a big month for EV sales in other parts of the world, too.Sales of EVs in France reached a record 38 per cent of the market or 36,159 electric cars. Quick reminder: Australia for the same month has 24.9 per cent and 27,089 electric cars.Let me also tell you that France is placed fourth in the world rankings for August EV sales.Of course this is nothing compared to China’s EV sales, which were approximately one million for August.Yes, China sold the same number of electric cars in August as the almost the combined sales of petrol, diesel, EV, and hybrids in Australia in any given year.With China in the No.1 place; in second place for August is Germany with 68,930 sales; then in third is the United States with about 65,000; then France with its 36,159; followed by the United Kingdom with 27,876; and then in sixth place is Australia with 27,089.We just missed out on being in the top 5 for August EV sales.Australia’s year-to-date battery electric vehicle sales through to the end of August come to 154,313.This places Australia in seventh place globally for the year so far, behind China in first place with approximately 6.06 million sales; then in second place is the US with about 500,000 sales; then Germany in third with 446,615; the UK is in fourth with 327,683; then France with 322,097; and then South Korea with 272,000.Petrol sales year to date have reached 243,673, which is 89,360 sales of the 154,313 EV sales.So while monthly sales of EVs are beginning to overtake petrol car sales, we won't see the electric car sales total for the year eclipse those of petrol in 2026.A recent report from the NRMA found there are approximately 500,000 EVs on Australian roads and this accounted for just three per cent of the total number of registered vehicles. But as we have seen by the monthly figures EV sales are at a high level and staying high. The NRMA said by 2040 10 per cent of registered vehicles will be EVs, and modelling by the CSIRO predicts by 2050 97 per cent of all light passenger cars will be battery electric vehicles.The Tesla Model Y is not just the biggest selling EV, it's also is the best selling of all cars in Australia right now with 6414 sold in August.The BYD Sealion 7 electric SUV with 2213 sales is the fifth best-selling car in Australia, while the Zeekr 7X is in ninth place with 1748 sales.

LG has made a battery breakthrough that could bring down the costs of electric cars further, as the race to develop more efficient technology heats up.Electrical technology company LG Energy Solution and Seoul National University have announced a breakthrough in the development of Lithium Manganese-Rich (LMR) batteries. The breakthrough ensures better stability of the battery making it recharge more fully, lengthening its life time while also reducing the costs of production.You’ve heard of Lithium-Ferro-Phosphate batteries (LFP) and Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) batteries, well LMR batteries are the next generation of how electric cars will store their power.As the name suggests, LMR batteries contain lithium and manganese metals, but the advantages to them are hard to ignore.LMR batteries are super energy dense, which means they can be used for high performance cars that want colossal grunt, and for long driving ranges for everyday cars. They also don’t contain cobalt.  Currently cobalt is of great ethical concern regarding how it’s mined, the environmental factors of the material and the sheer cost. OK, we’re going to get a bit technical. So hold on. A barrier for LMR batteries until now is the recharging issues - they require a tonne of voltage to charge, but this destabilises the cathode and that means oxygen is lost and this causes the crystals to warp. Basically, the battery loses the ability to hold its charge over time, while capacity also fades. LG has worked out how to build LMR batteries that don’t need a high voltage to charge and this retains the structural integrity of the crystal structure and so there’s minimal battery fade over time.This is huge, but it’s very early days and the development is still in the research phase. LG is celebrating the breakthrough.“This research addresses one of the key challenges facing LMR batteries,” an LG Energy Solution spokesperson said in a press statement. “It demonstrates that stable battery life can be secured even in large-format cells by effectively suppressing gas generation, providing an important foundation for growth in the next-generation LMR battery market.”    Currently NMC batteries, which use cobalt are in high-powered or bigger cars that demand lots of grunt. Autobahn cruisers like the Porsche Taycan, big family SUVs, such as the Kia EV9 or long-legged EVs such as the Zeekr 7X need NMC batteries to provide substantial range and power.But NMC batteries are also why these vehicles are so expensive - the high cost of producing them from sourcing materials to making them is passed onto the consumer.LFP batteries don’t use cobalt, which is excellent, but they aren’t as energy dense as NMC batteries and that’s adequate for small cars and suburban family SUVs, but more range and power would be better.LMR batteries could replace LFP and NMC altogether, and this will reduce the price of EVs while ensuring long range and good driving performance, while not losing charging capacity over time.That’s why LG is celebrating this breakthrough and you can bet car companies will be watching the progress very closely. 

It has never been cheaper for buyers considering an EV in Australia. Increased demand and more efficient development processes have reduced the prices of electric cars in Australia significantly. Carmakers continue to battle it out to go cheaper than their rivals, with options now appearing below the $30,000 mark.Some affordable EVs are even cheaper than traditional petrol-powered budget examples. The BYD Atto 1 has maintained its title as the cheapest electric car in Australia.The compact SUV starts from $23,990, with top-spec models costing $27,990, both before on-road costs. Until the end of the year, the BYD Atto 1 Essential grade is just $19,990 drive-away, making it not just the cheapest EV but the cheapest car in Australia.The Atto 1’s single electric motor only produces 65kW and 175Nm as standard, while its 30kWh battery is good for more than 200km of driving range (WLTP). The newest member of the below $30,000 club is the Geely EX2, which has already surged towards the top of the sales charts in Australia. The rear-wheel drive EX2 starts from $26,490, with the range-topping variant priced from $30,990, both before on-road costs. The base variant has 60kW and 150Nm from a single electric motor, along with a 35kWh battery offering 252km.GAC will launch a short-range version of its Aion UT in late 2026 that is expected to be less than $30,000, as well. The Atto 1 and Geely EX2 use before on-road costs pricing, so buyers will have to spend an extra up to $5000 on registration and other costs to drive it out of the showroom. The MG4 Urban is the cheaper front-wheel drive sibling of the MG4, available with a sharp drive-away price of $31,990.Its 110kW and 250Nm as standard bests its cheaper competition, while its more than 316km of driving range is hard to look past at its price point. While GAC’s short-range Aion UT is not here yet, the current ‘Premium’ grade starts from $31,990 (drive-away). The Aion UT boasts an electric motor that makes 150kW and 210Nm, besting the MG4 Urban with a quoted riving range of more than 400km from its 60kWh battery.The GWM Ora 5 SUV is available from $33,990, drive-away, as a new cheaper replacement for the Ora hatch.The Ora 5 makes 150kW and 260Nm from its single electric motor.BYD’s affordable EVs continue down the list, with the Dolphin hatchback ($29,990) and the bigger Atto 2 small SUV ($31,990), both before on-road costs. Leapmotor’s B05 is the brand’s cheapest car on sale, and currently is available with a $35,990, drive-away price until 30 September 2026. The B05 is a smaller SUV compared to mid-sized Leapmotor’s B10 with its fully-electric variant kicking off from $38,990, drive-away, also until 30 September 2026. The Jaecoo J5's proportions are on the larger end of the small SUV scale, making it a compelling proposition at $36,990, drive-away. The J5 has had a strong start to life in Australia, and the best-selling small SUV for May 2026. 

The days of being a ‘Holden family’ and buying a new model from the same brand each year are gone.The increasing fragmentation of the Australian car market, as well as the on-going cost-of-living crisis is driving new car buyers to ditch brand loyalty in favour of whatever suits them best.It’s why some of Australia’s most beloved brands are enduring a difficult 2026, with the latest new car sales data showing Toyota, Mazda, Ford, Kia and Hyundai all suffering sales decline as the likes of BYD, GWM, Chery and other relative-newcomers lure buyers away.Hyundai Australia Chief Operating Officer Gavin Donaldson admits it is now the toughest time he can recall in the local industry.“Yeah, I think that's one of the biggest things right now,” Donaldson said.“It's important to try and maintain loyalty. There is some benefit of that, and that's obviously going to be really more driven, probably long-term, about your after-sales experience. It's easy, probably purchasing your car, driving it out, but then how you get looked after if there's ever issues or servicing is going to become more important.“Right now I think there's so much choice there for customers that they have the ability to pick and choose whatever it is. It's just competitive, the amount of brands that are in there now. The market size has also slightly grown."Like it's 1.2 this year. It's 1.15m, 1.2m, historically grown on the back of immigration more than anything. It's just so competitive at present time. And as we say, customers now have such a wide diversification of choice that it's difficult to get their attention.”Looking at the car sales data year-to-date to the end of August, Toyota is down 17%, Mazda down 15.9% and Ford 14.5%, while BYD is up more than 100%, Chery is up 64.3% and GWM has grown 15.%. It’s clear from these figures that despite the historical success of the likes of Toyota, Mazda, Ford and the other ‘legacy’ brands, the newer Chinese rivals are winning over customers.In that context, Hyundai’s drop of 2.0 per cent can be seen a relatively positive result, with Donaldson admitting brands will need to adjust to selling less volume. But he also doubled down on the idea that after-sales support, specifically the dealer and servicing experience will be the true test for longevity for both the legacy bands and the newcomers.“ There's no doubt the legacy brands are under pressure,” Donaldson admitted.“Most of them are losing share year on year. Does that mean you reset your future levels of share? I don't know. Because it comes down to, I've always said… it comes down to your product portfolio. You can launch cars that the Australian public might see as outstanding and rush to your brand. So for us it's about maintaining a certain level of scale, make sure our dealers are as profitable as they can be, which is also under pressure because of multi-franchising and all that at present time. It's just extremely competitive and I think customers have got great choice. But I think long-term, you've got to be able to provide the overall customer experience to ensure not only selling the car, but there's the long-term servicing as part as well.”Donaldson’s comments mirror similar sentiment from Skoda Australia Brand Director Lucie Kuhn, who recently told CarsGuide 2026 is shaping as a defining year for the future of the Australian automotive landscape.“ The industry will be recalibrating,” Kuhn said.“I think this year it has just started, but I think we have ahead of us another three years at least, maybe three up to five. We'll see when the entire industry will be, let's say, looking for its new normal. Seventy competitors in the market, yeah, it's a lot. And I think every brand will try to find not only its new normal, but find its new viable normal. And viable normal for all the stakeholders, because this is the most complex thing."It’s not just OEMs, importer, dealers, and still being competitive and attractive enough to the customer. This is what is ahead all of us, and it doesn't matter if it's a legacy brand, but it's also the Chinese entrants, they will have the same thing. Because running like that, it's simply a penetration strategy. It will end up somewhere… and then what?”But Kuhn believes that elements such as the actual driving experience, which is still seen as an advantage for the more experienced legacy brands, will remain a key selling point from Skoda and its like.“To actually meet the expectations of the customers… they expect a level of driving refinement,” she said.But Kuhn, like Donaldson, is resigned to the fact that the days of families being loyal to one car brand for their entire motoring life.“Customers don’t stick to the brands they used to… all their life,” she said.

Latest sales data shows buyers now prefer cheap EVs to budget petrol hatchbacks in Australia.More affordable EV models have hit the Aussie market in the last year, with Chinese brands putting forward competitive propositions.Cheap petrol-powered hatchbacks the Mazda2 and Toyota Yaris used to be staples for first-car buyers, but it looks like that's starting to change.The electric-only BYD Atto 1 and Geely EX2 are affordable routes into the electric car market for buyers, and its showing on the sales charts in 2026.The petrol- and hybrid-powered MG3 is the best-selling light car in Australia this year, but it's attracting competition from electric Chinese rivals. The Geely EX2 has had a bumper start to life in Australia since it went on sale in late July 2026.It's approaching nearly 2000 examples sold in a little over a month, compared to the MG3’s roughly 5500 across the year so far.In August alone, the EX2 held nearly 38 per cent of the market share in the light car segment. It was close to doubling the MG3’s August total, while it was confidently ahead of the petrol-only Mazda2. Its success is in part due to the fulfilment of extensive pre-orders.Geely's Director of Product Planning and Marketing Andrew Tuitahi recently told CarsGuide small EVs like the EX2 were showing promising signs of reigniting interest in the light car segment.“So a lot of the compromises that you typically make if you were going to buy a b-segment or a light hatchback - things like drivetrain, power, performance, safety, style, you know, space - a lot of those things are solved with a battery electric platform," Tuitahi said.“So I think consumers are able to prioritise maybe some features by sacrificing a segment, but still getting that same space.”It’s not just EX2 that is shaking up the established affordable car segment. The BYD Atto 1 is still the cheapest electric car on sale in Australia, and owns nearly 20 per cent of the light car segment in 2026 so far. The Atto 1 and EX2’s rise has been at the expense of its petrol competition.The MG3’s August represented a more than 80 per cent increase on July, but it was still a way off the EX2. Its sales so far in 2026 are down nearly 11 per cent compared to August 2025. The Toyota Yaris hybrid has experienced a near 30 per cent decline year-to-date in AustraliaThe new wave of affordable EVs are also beating its petrol competitors on price. Buyers may have previously felt priced out by the extra money an EV cost, but the tides are turning.The Atto 1’s $23,990 price tag undercuts the Mazda2 ($27,290) and Toyota Yaris ($29,190), all before on-roads.In addition to fast and cheap EV production cycles from China, brands must contend with fines for petrol-powered models under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).Mazda increased the price of its entire range, including the Mazda2 earlier this year, while the Toyota Yaris became a hybrid-only model in 2024, ditching cheaper petrol variants. MG is currently offering the MG3 with a $19,990 drive-away deal, with it previously available from $21,990. If buyers want a hybrid variant of the MG3, it costs an extra roughly $8000, making it more expensive than the fully-electric Atto 1 and EX2.  

BYD’s Shark 6 is about to have some company, with the brand locking in a new ute.It isn’t the little plug-in-hybrid BYD Mako, which was revealed in Brazil in August, but could be a more off-road focused version of the Shark 6.The Mako is based on the Sealion 6 SUV and uses a monocoque chassis rather than a ladder frame underpinning found on proper rugged utes such as the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and the BYD Shark 6.Now it appears the incoming new ute will be more like the Shark 6 than the Mako.BYD New Zealand General Manager Warren Willmot told New Zealand outlet Autotrader, the Mako was not suitable and another ute is in the works.“Not for NZ, we declined this.“Instead Aus/NZ are working on a more suitable workhorse ute for our market.”Earlier this year Group Vice President of BYD and General Manager of BYD Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division Liu Xueliang told CarsGuide a specific Aussie model was coming.“We have another special model, just for Australian customers,” Liu said via translator, but wouldn’t be drawn on further details.Chief Operating Officer of BYD Australia Stephen Collins said no more could be said yet, but the brand will “have more to say about that later in the year".It now appears this special model will be a ute and the year is fast running out so BYD might be preparing an announcement sooner rather than later.It is unclear whether this will be a totally separate model from the current Shark 6 or another variant.BYD has recently expanded its Shark 6 range with the addition of an entry-level cab-chassis variant and a more high-end Performance grade.The company could further expand the range with a proper off-road focused version of the Shark 6, with the ute’s 4WD ability one of its biggest weaknesses.A proper off-road ute makes the most sense and would fit the special model for Australia, with Aussie buyers snapping up tough 4WD utes such as the Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota HiLux Rogue and Mitsubishi Triton Raider.It could borrow some of the learnings from the related Denza B5 to beef up the Shark 6's toughness.Other options include the tradie-focused smaller single cab variant, or going larger and match the GWM Cannon Alpha or even full-size US-style utes.

Aussie EV owners could soon be facing a battery crisis.The world’s biggest battery maker CATL has warned shortened vehicle-development and validation cycles are leading to wide-scale electric car battery failures, according to reports. CATL Chairman Robert Zeng said China’s battery defect tolerances are too lenient for high-volume Chinese EV production. Chinese carmakers have launched more than 600 new vehicle models this year already, equating to almost three new EVs every day.Potentially rushed development processes could spell trouble for EV buyers down the line.  CATL is calling for defect tolerances to only allow for up to 1000 defective cells for every one billion cells manufactured.Defective electric car batteries don't just stop a car from driving, but they can also give rise to other safety issues.The Chinese GAC Aion S was involved in a “banana battery” swelling issue in mid-2026, impacting 213,000 lithium-iron-phosphate examples, where batteries were physically bending. Australian GAC Aion vehicles use a different battery.This led to cell leakage, insulation faults and power system shutdowns while driving. Supplier CALB was forced to implement extensive quality reforms and inspection measures as a result of the controversy.It doesn’t take much for an EV battery to stop working, according to Zeng, who said packs are only as reliable as the weakest component. Just one defective cell can be detrimental to the performance and safety of the whole pack. There was a high-profile compensation claim from Geely subsidiary Viridi in early 2026, where it sued battery maker Sunwoda for 2.31 billion yuan for defective cells supplied from 2021 to 2023The pair eventually settled for 608 million yuan. EV battery reforms are on the agenda in Australia. A recent report from the Australian Automotive Dealer Network (AADA) called for serious changes to rules around EV battery replacements.The report warned of a “wave of litigation" when EV batteries need replacement outside of the warranty period because their cost could exceed the vehicle’s remaining value. One particular dealer said Chinese-built cars are “not holding their charge” or are “blowing up on fire”.It puts forward that manufacturers should be required to define acceptable battery thresholds or disclose the expected degrading of a unit. If a battery holds at least 70 per cent of its charge after eight years, it would be considered to be performing at an acceptable level, for example. 

EVs are more than just cars in Australia.They can charge devices, power houses and even earn their owners money, as Australia's energy grid undergoes a once-in-a-generation transformation.Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is the final step to fully unlock this potential for electric cars Down Under.V2G is a type of bi-directional charging, a technology that comprises vehicle-to-load (V2L), vehicle-to-home (V2H) and V2G.It allows an electric car to use its battery to send its power back into the energy grid, rather than just power external devices, or charge home batteries.V2G allows owners to charge up their EVs at cheaper times and sell it back to the electricity grid at more expensive times.Rooftop solar, of which Australia has some of the highest uptake in the world, can also be used to charge an EV effectively for free and transfer the stored electricity to the grid for pure profit, especially when an abundance of sunlight has home battery systems fully charged.V2G is not far away in Australia, but there remains roadblocks to its full-scale uptake. Many car manufacturer warranties do not support V2G use as they do not cover battery damage caused by third-party set-ups.Rapidly transferring energy on incompatible vehicles can cause substantial wear on the battery and cause other safety issues. There is also debate about which safety protocols V2G should abide by in Australia as the tech faces regulatory hurdles.The latest ISO 15118-20 protocol is deemed safer than the original ISO 15118-2 for example, but it will need longer to be fully implemented in Australia.Manufacturers are starting to alter their warranties and are undergoing extensive trials for the technology with electricity providers. We are likely to see a full-scale uptake of V2G in Australia within the next couple of years, as regulatory approvals and car warranties catch up, but there is still work to do to make them safer and more efficient. Hyundai and Kia are expected to prepare major announcements for the tech within the next few months.Some models already on sale with V2G capability may be able to use the technology via a software, such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, but it is unclear exactly which models will be eligible.The federal government has shown a keen interest in V2G as part of its energy policy and has recently committed substantial investment towards establishing a network through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) which currently helps to fund other EV technologies like public DC fast chargers.