2024 BYD T3 Reviews

It’s monstrously powerful, staggeringly quick and charges in less than 10 minutes - it’s the Denza Z9 GT electric wagon and it’s been officially confirmed for Australia.BYD’s luxury division Denza says its Z9 GT will make its local debut at the 2026 Melbourne motor show this weekend with deliveries commencing towards the end of the year. “Australia is a market that demands performance without compromise, and the Z9 GT has been engineered to meet or exceed expectations,” said Denza Australia Chief Operating Officer Mark Harland.“The Denza Z9GT proves that electrification can deliver not just efficiency, but exhilarating performance, extraordinary safety and genuine long-distance usability."Pricing and full specifications have yet to be announced for Australia, but Denza has confirmed that our Z9 GT will be the first from the brand to use the new “blade battery 2.0 technology” and “Flash ultra charging”. This tech gives the battery 1500kW DC charging capability to fill from 10-97 per cent in nine minutes. Australia's current fastest charger can dish out 400kW.Denza Australia also confirmed the Z9 GT will have a range of 1036km (CLTC) and that means the local variant will have the large 122.5kWh battery. Expect about 20 per cent less in the real world.Three motors power the Z9 GT and produce a combined 850kW for a staggering 0-100km/h time of just 2.7 seconds.The Z9 GT will also have air suspension providing what is expected to be a comfortable and luxurious ride.The Z9 GT has a decadent cabin with Nappa leather upholstery massaging and ventilated seats, a 50-inch augmented reality head-up display, premium stereo system, built-in fridge and 128 colour ambient lighting. So how much will the Z9 GT cost?  That will be revealed closer to the models on-sale date but it is expected to be a lot less than the Porsche Taycan’s $181,000 starting price.The Denza B8 large plug-in hybrid SUV is the most expensive model currently of the brand with a list price of $97,990. The Z9 GT could extend beyond the $100,000 mark in Australia for the highest specification.BYD launched its luxury sub-brand Denza in Australia in early 2026 and led its arrival with the B5 and B8 hybrid SUVs. The brand's first fully electric vehicle to come to Australia is D9 people mover with the Z9 GT becoming the fourth model to launch in the brand’s local expansion.

BYD has confirmed two new versions of the top-selling Shark 6 dual-cab ute for Australia that will be available to order soon.The new, flagship BYD Shark 6 Performance is priced from $62,900 before on-road costs, which is $5000 more than the existing Premium trim.There’s also a new, entry-level Shark 6 Dynamic cab-chassis trim which is priced from $55,900 before on-road costs.It’s worth noting that this does not include a tray. BYD has been working with Ironman 4x4 to develop a heavy-duty alloy tray as an option, but pricing for this hasn’t been confirmed yet.A full pricing table is at the bottom of this story.The main change with the new Shark 6 Performance is it receives a larger and more powerful 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine.With the dual electric motors, one on each axle, it produces total system outputs of 350kW and 700Nm, which is 29kW and 50Nm more than the 1.5-litre turbo Shark 6 variants.BYD claims the Shark 6 Performance can do the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.5 seconds, which is 0.2 seconds faster than the Shark 6 Premium.It also has a braked towing capacity of 3500kg, which is 1000kg more than the Shark 6 Dynamic cab-chassis and Premium.Payload capacities for the Shark 6 Dynamic cab-chassis and Performance haven’t been confirmed yet, however, the existing Premium offers 790kg.A new ‘Crawl’ drive mode debuts in the Shark 6 Performance, which the company claims to improve the off-road capability over the existing “Mountain” drive mode. Essentially a low-speed cruise control, it operates at up to 20km/h and continuously adjusts torque to keep the wheels moving without slipping.While the ‘Crawl’ drive mode will initially be offered in the Performance trim, it’ll come to the Premium and Dynamic cab-chassis vehicles via an over-the-air software update later this year.It’s worth noting that no Shark 6 variant offers any form of locking differential. To date this has been reserved for the more premium, yet related Denza B5 and B8 SUVs.Full specifications haven’t been confirmed just yet but the Dynamic cab-chassis receives a smaller 12.8-inch central touchscreen multimedia system. The Premium and Performance have a 15.6-inch touchscreen instead.At this stage BYD has only released imagery of the new Shark 6 Dynamic cab-chassis. It’s unclear if the Performance will have any visual changes.

Fuel type and engine set-up are becoming increasingly important factors in people's new car buying thinking, exclusive data reveals, with rising fuel prices making buyers even more vigilant.Diversity of engine set-up choices have increased substantially in the past few years. Buyers can pick from internal combustion, hybrid or electric.It appears this choice is encouraging buyers question what is best for them when they enter the showroom.The data is part of Gumtree Group's The Next Gear: Australia in Motion report and was gathered from 4,400 people who used Gumtree, CarsGuide and AutoTrader in 2025. According to exclusive data, fuel type is the primary consideration for 40 per cent of prospective buyers. This is an increase of 33 per cent year-on-year demonstrating how fuel type has become more important. Among the biggest considerations for prospective buyers is that 52 per cent of those surveyed said they would consider hybrid, while 39 per cent said they consider plug-in hybrid. This represents substantial year-on-year increases. It lines up with sales boosts to hybrid and plug-in hybrid models over the past 12 months at the expense of internal combustion alternatives.Another choice increasingly peaking the interests of buyers in Australia is fully-electric vehicles, which have seen a substantial boost in sales. According to Gumtree’s data, one-in-three prospective buyers said they would consider an electric car for their next purchase, which is an increase of 57 per cent compared to 2024.Expect these figures to increase further in the coming months as fuel prices rise further. This is despite hybrid and electric cars often incurring an initial purchase premium on internal combustion, which is paid off over time courtesy of less fuel use.Many of the top-selling brands are pivoting to hybrids in light of NVES, such as Toyota, Kia and Hyundai. As well as Chinese brands such as BYD which only offer electrified powertrains.Even utes are starting to offer hybrid options, like the popular BYD Shark 6, while the Ford Ranger has a PHEV variant. Chery will bring across a diesel PHEV showing the diversity of hybrid options. 

Electric vehicle sales are booming in a way they never have before in Australia. Buyer options have increased significantly in 2026, with more affordable choices also appearing more regularly. There were 15839 electric vehicle sales for March in 2026, up from 8385 compared to this time last year, representing a near 89 per cent year-on-year growth. Established SUV players such as the Tesla Model Y lead the way with 2818 sales, along with the BYD Sealion 7 (1970). There are also some new competitors climbing up the sales charts, such as the Zeekr 7X performance SUV, which managed 679 registrations for March, having launched late last year.The Tesla Model 3 sedan (667) continues to be present among the top sellers despite its prolonged downturn.The SUV trend continues as Geely’s EX5 (606) and the Kia EV5 (587) are next on the list, before BYD’s presence resumes with the Atto 2 small SUV (572). Another new EV making an early impression is the Jaecoo J5, which launched at the start of this year and achieved 569 sales last month. The BYD Atto 1 (488) and Atto 2 (466) also make the list along with the Kia EV3 (461). Hatchbacks are proving popular amongst EV buyers as well. The MG4 (451) remains among the strongest selling EVs, as does the BYD Dolphin (373). The Toyota bZ4X is also experiencing an upturn to 447 sales for March and BYD is represented again with its Seal sedan (337) to round out the top 15. Top selling electric cars Australia March 2026

BYD Chairman and Executive Director Wang Chuan-fu has said competition in the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) industry “has reached a fever pitch” and is entering a “brutal knockout stage”.Speaking at the company’s 2025 Annual Results Announcement in Shenzhen, China, Mr Wang said, “In 2025, as the global landscape evolved at an accelerated pace, the century-long transformation of the global automotive industry entered a critical phase."“We also recognise that competition in the NEV industry has reached a fever pitch, and is undergoing a brutal knockout stage,” he said.The Chinese giant is widely perceived as the instigator of an intense price war in the domestic new car market, designed to apply pressure to newer, more vulnerable players.It’s worth noting XPeng Founder and Chairman He Xiaopeng is on the record with a prediction that the squeeze play to eliminate smaller EV makers “could last up to five years and leave just five survivors” from the 100-plus brands currently active in China.But BYD’s aggressive strategy has impacted its own results with year-on-year sales down 7.8 per cent to 3.55 million vehicles.As a consequence, net profit also fell ¥33 billion (~$6.8 billion) in the financial year to December 31, 2025 and the company’s net profit margin shrank to 4.1 per cent compared to 5.2 per cent in 2024.And a clue to the risky nature of the brand’s brutal discounting tactics is that fall in profit arriving in parallel with a 3.5 per cent increase in revenue to ¥804 billion (~$166 billion).For reference, China’s total automobile production and sales in 2025 reached a staggering 34.53 million and 34.40 million units, representing year-on-year increases of 10.4 per cent and 9.4 per cent, respectively.NEV production and sales hit 16.626 million and 16.49 million units, surging 29 per cent and 28.2 per cent year-on-year.With high tariffs effectively putting the US market off limits for now, Mr Wang noted the company’s growing export presence elsewhere with BYD now represented in 119 countries across Latin America, The Middle East, UK, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.He also pointed to completion of a US$5.6 billion (~A$7.9 billion) round of revenue raising “attracting participation from top-tier global long-term investors, sovereign wealth funds and strategic investors from the Middle East.”And in terms of product research and development across BYD and its Fangchengbao, Denza and Yangwang sub-brands, Mr Wang referenced the Group’s ‘Technology Dream Team’ comprising over 120,000 engineers with recent innovations including the ‘Super e-Platform’, claimed to be “the world’s first mass-produced, full-domain 1000V high-voltage architecture for passenger vehicles”.He also highlighted 'DiSus’, the Group’s proprietary intelligent body control system for NEVs and the second-generation ‘Blade’ battery including ‘Flash Charging Technology’ taking five minutes to charge from 10-70 per cent, nine minutes from 10-97 per cent at normal temperature and 12 minutes to charge from 20-97 per cent at -30 degrees C. The latter is claimed to set a new global record for the fastest charging speed in mass-produced EVs, in the process “overcoming the global challenges of ‘slow charging’ and ‘difficult low-temperature charging’ that have characterised the first half of the electrification race.”

Geely sub-brand Zeekr has unveiled its ultra fast charger in China, which boasts some bonkers charging numbers as it looks to take on BYD.The brand’s official testing data reveals it can charge a vehicle from 10-97 per cent in under nine minutes. Charging from 10-80 per cent takes a little over five minutes, while 10-70 per cent charges are under five minutes.These numbers are better than those of BYD's ‘T’-shaped megawatt flash charger announced earlier this year, which can charge from 10-97 per cent in nine minutes and charge from 10-70 per cent in five minutes.According to Geely, the peak charging power registered at 1100kW, and maintained more than 500kW after reaching 80 per cent charge. It uses the same industry-leading liquid-cooled system as on BYD's unit.Maintaining such a high level of power in the latter stages of charging is a game changer, because most chargers slow down significantly due to the difficulty in locating spare cells.These figures were achieved using the 900-volt platform found on several high-end Zeekr models, such as the 007 GT wagon and the 9X SUV, both of which will be landing on Aussie shores.Geely is the latest brand to get in on the charging game in China, with it becoming the latest battleground for manufacturers in conjunction with expanding charging infrastructure territory.There is no official timeline for a commercial rollout of Geely’s new chargers, but the brand’s broader charging network had more than 2000 charging stations and more than 10,000 charging plugs as of February 2026. Only just over 1000 of these are ultra-fast chargers, which is behind many of Geely’s key rivals.BYD has been rapidly expanding its network in China to chase down the dominant player in Tesla, having already built 5000 of its megawatt charger at the start of this month. It aims to install 20,000 stations by the end of this year.Megawatt fast charging is still an emerging area in Australia, but BYD has already indicated its intention to bring across a version of its megawatt charger Down Under in the next 12-18 months.Charging infrastructure generally in Australia needs to be increased substantially in the next few years according to experts to accommodate greater numbers of EVs on the roads.

BYD has confirmed pricing and specifications for its Seal 6 sedan and wagon pair.The new plug-in hybrid pair arrive in one grade each. The Seal 6 Sedan Essential is the price leader at $34,990 (before on-roads) with a smaller 10.08kWh battery, and the Seal 6 Touring Premium steps up to $39,990 before on-roads with a larger 19kWh battery pack.The sedan can travel 55km in EV mode, while the wagon can travel 100km in EV mode, both according to the generally more accurate WLTP standard.Both cars share the same plug-in hybrid powertrain, a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. Specs for this powertrain were not revealed, but pre-approval documents show the engine producing 70kW/120Nm with the electric motors producing either 120kW/210Nm or 160kW/260Nm. Total combined outputs are either 130kW or 163kW.According to Chinese specifications, the Camry-rivalling pair can charge at a maximum rate of 48kW on a fast DC charger for a sub-30-minute charge time, and are equipped with vehicle-to-load, allowing the battery to externally power devices.Combined driving range is expected to exceed 1300km for both variants according to preliminary figures.The sedan offers 550 litres of boot space, while the wagon offers up 670-litres.Standard equipment on both cars is set to include an 8.8-inch digital dash, a 12.8-inch central multimedia screen, as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and over-the-air features.Other features available on the Seal 6 overseas include a wireless phone charger, interior ambient lighting, and full synthetic leather interior trim.Orders for the Seal 6 Sedan and Touring wagon begin on the 9th of April.The pair will go into battle against local rivals like the ever-popular and plugless hybrid-only Toyota Camry (from $39,990), the mild-hybrid Skoda Octavia (from $43,990), the combustion MG7 (from $44,990), placing the aggressive sub-$40,000 pricing in good stead amongst its rivals.It will also serve to bolster BYD’s seemingly ever-growing line-up, as a hybrid alternative to the existing Seal EV sedan (from $46,990).The growing line-up is a significant part of BYD’s strategy in Australia to rival Toyota in every category, which the brand’s executives told CarsGuide would be a key part of the brand’s ambition to clinch a top-three position in our market by the end of 2026.Denza Chief Operating Officer Mark Harland, who previously held senior roles in BYD before ascending to the head of its luxury arm, told CarsGuide in 2025: “Toyota has something like 95 per cent of the segments in Australia covered by at least one variant, and if we want to ever be number one we need to have vehicles available in those segments too.”Spurred on by meteoric fuel prices in recent weeks, BYD is already making good progress on its goal - more than doubling its sales year-on-year to the latest figures. It has now leapfrogged GWM to become Australia’s favourite Chinese automaker, and is ranking sixth in the Australian market so far in 2026 after finishing 2025 in eighth position.

Chinese brand GAC has shown official camouflage pictures of a brand new plug-in hybrid off-roader, which will debut a new platform and direction for the Toyota-allied brand.Codenamed T75, the new off-roader will debut at the Beijing Motor Show in late April. The brand confirms it will be a plug-in hybrid as evidenced by two flaps on both sides above the rear wheel arch.The overall appearance confirms the new GAC off-roader will follow in the footsteps of the Denza B5 from BYD’s premium arm, leaning into the traditional boxy off-road appeal, complete with a tailgate-mounted spare wheel and high-profile tyres.The new images also show real door handles (as opposed to the kinds of previously-popular flush door handles currently being targeted by Chinese regulators), and a grille-free face. The brand is yet to reveal the new SUV’s light profile, although unlike some concept vehicles, the images show the T75 with real wing mirrors.It is a stark new design direction for GAC, leaving behind the large-grille design of its hybrid GS8 large SUV. Chinese media is reporting the T75 has been in the works at GAC since at least 2024, and the company has invested over the equivalent of $100 million in the project.This new GAC off-roader could also be our first hint at the brand’s recently confirmed upcoming dual-cab ute.The ute is due in 2027 and the company’s local CEO Kevin Shu said it was likely we’d learn more about it at Beijing in late April.If the new ute does share its underpinnings with this new plug-in hybrid off-roader, it will pit GAC’s dual-pronged off-road offering head-to-head with the BYD Shark 6 and the related Denza B5, which both use a petrol plug-in hybrid set-up.This space is becoming increasingly heated, with many Chinese brands moving into the off-road space, using Australia as a trial-by-fire for their range of new products. Not only is the Denza B5 and Tank 500 already in this plug-in off-road space, but Geely is also set to enter the fray before long with its Galaxy Cruiser 700.

BYD has fired a shot across the bow of some of the biggest car bands in Australia in March.The Chinese automaker sold 7217 vehicles in the past month as Australians scrambled to get their hands on plug-in hybrids and electric cars as fuel prices soared.That is a mammoth one month total which beat Ford (7149), Mazda (7156) and Hyundai (6979). Only Toyota (16,574) and Kia (7320) did better than BYD.BYD sales increased by 50 per cent compared to March last year, just as leading brands sales declined. If the Chinese challenger keeps up this growth it's on track to tackle Toyota off the top spot.It was also a banner month for electric vehicles, with about 15,500 finding a new home, which is about double the amount sold in March, 2025.Tesla’s Model Y led the pack with 2818 sales, followed by the BYD Sealion 7 (1970), Zeekr 7X (679), Tesla Model 3 (667) and Geely EX5 (606).Sales of hybrids and plug-in hybrids were also up, but not at the same rate as electric vehicles.Australians bought 17,953 hybrids in March, and 8215 plug-in hybrids (PHEV).Most of the conventional hybrids were Toyotas with BYD gobbling up the lion’s share of PHEVs.A total of 108,703 were sold in the past month, which is slightly down on the previous March. The latest sales data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows there is still plenty of demand for diesel and petrol cars.The Ford Ranger ute was against the best selling vehicle in the nation with 4452 examples finding a new home.This was followed by the Toyota HiLux (4167), Tesla Model Y (2818), Nissan X-Trail (2438) and Mitsubishi Outlander (2318).The Hyundai Kona (2316), Chery Tiggo 4 (2258), Isuzu D-Max (2167), Hyundai Tucson (2042) and Haval Jolion (2013) rounded out the top 10.China was again the top importer to Australia in March — off the back of the success of BYD, GWM, MG and Chery — beating Japan to the post by less than 400 cars. Japan is still the biggest importer of new cars through the first three months but the gap is shrinking fast.Thailand — where the majority of dual-cab utes are built — sunk to a distant third.Toyota’s bad run continued with sales down nearly 20 per cent compared to the same month last year, and down 23 per cent for the year to date.The Japanese giant will get a boost in sales thanks to the new RAV4 family SUV arriving in dealerships this month.Top 10 selling  vehicles March, 2026Top selling car brands March, 2026

With all due respect to GAC and its plans for a new dual-cab ute — please don’t. Same goes for Hyundai, which has been talking up its plans for a ute in recent months, and Chery that has a yet-to-be-named new ute incoming. We have enough utes in this country.That might sound like a ‘click-bait, hot take’ (and it partially is) but it’s also very much true. The ute market in Australia is getting over-crowded and new additions will make it even more densely packed.Don’t take my word for it, Sean Hanley, the former sales and marketing boss of Toyota has been saying we’ve reached ‘peak ute’ for more than a year. Coming from a man who oversaw the enduring sales success of the HiLux and introduced the Tundra to Australia, that’s a notable position to take. Speaking in January 2025, Hanley said he wasn’t confident that more utes arriving would equal more sales overall.“I’m not necessarily sharing a view that it's going to grow astronomically because of the new entrants,” he said. “It may, I could be wrong, but it’ll be interesting to watch.“Looking towards the future, we already know that the number of ute models available to Australian buyers will expand rapidly. “They’ll be competing for an overall ute market that is likely to remain steady, which suggests that the average sales per model will come down as a result.”That hypothesis was proved correct when the 2025 sales were tallied. The ute segment grew only 2.7 per cent between 2024 and ‘25, despite 12 new entrants from several new brands — including Kia, BYD, MG, Foton and GWM.Go back five years and look at the difference between 2021 and ‘25 and the idea of hitting ‘peak ute’ comes into even greater focus. In that span there was 5.9 per cent sales growth but a 41 per cent increase in the available number of models. Hanley followed up his January comments with more at the launch of the new HiLux late in 2025.“So when I say the ute market's peaked, what I mean is that, well, exactly that, it's peaked. But it's still a significant market, and it will be for the future,” he told CarsGuide."But I think that whole ute market's going to be crazy for the next couple of years. So in the end it doesn't matter what I think. It matters what customers think.”Nissan Oceania Managing Director Andrew Humberstone, seemingly along with GAC and Hyundai management, believes the contrary and the ute market has increased volume in its future.“I don't want to really talk specifically about numbers, but we see certainly an increase in volume,” he told CarsGuide in December ‘25.While BYD has made strong in-roads into the ute market with the Shark 6, cementing itself as a top five selling dual-cab, the reality for most of these new players is they are attracting relatively small volumes.Kia, which set a public goal of 10,000 sales by the end of ‘25 managed less than half of that (4196), while despite a competitive price and bigger-than-average size, the MG U9 managed only 472 sales in the few months it was on sale. Foton split 177 sales between its Tunland V7 and V9 since they hit the market in late ‘25.But even some models that were on sale for the full year in 2025 fared poorly. The Jeep Gladiator found just 332 buyers, while the Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara and Volkswagen Amarok all experienced sales drops.Of course, this story won’t stop the new utes from GAC, Hyundai and Chery coming, nor any other brand that wants to join in, but the reality is none are likely to dramatically increase the size of the overall ute market. Instead, the share of the market will just get divided up into smaller and smaller pieces.In the end, natural selection will play its part and the models that don’t sell will simply be overlooked by buyers and are likely to disappear eventually. One way or another, Australia will not have an endlessly growing number of utes to choose from.