BYD News

I’m going to let you in on a little secret that ever-so-slightly undermines the good work I and others do for this esteemed tome. But do keep it between us, ok?

The Yangwang U9, you know, that wicked Chinese supercar that you’ve likely seen pop up (literally, it can hop) on TikTok or Instagram here and there — has just gotten a little bit more extreme.

Where does the Kia Tasman go from here? Is having a conventional diesel engine as the sole choice enough to run with the best-sellers? Should the Tasman follow the lead of the Ranger Raptor by going down the off-road performance path, to create a halo model for the rest of the range to bask beneath? Or is going hybrid the answer? The answer may shock you!

Business is booming at BYD, but it is starting to experience some major growing pains.

China’s BYD has introduced two variants to its top-selling Sealion 6 mid-size plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUV line-up in Australia.The mid-spec Dynamic trim level has returned to the local Sealion 6 line-up and is now being offered in two versions – Standard Range and Extended Range.The latter of these is a new addition to the Sealion 6 local line-up.The 2026 BYD Sealion 6 Dynamic Extended Range is priced from $46,990 before on-road costs.This is $1000 more than the Sealion 6 Dynamic Standard Range. This trim level was previously priced at $48,990 before on-roads.A full pricing table for the 2026 BYD Sealion 6 line-up is at the bottom of this story.Compared to the rest of the line-up, the Sealion 6 Dynamic Extended Range has a larger 26.6kWh ‘Blade’ lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. Other variants use an 18.3kWh LFP battery.As a result of having this larger battery pack, the Sealion 6 Dynamic Extended Range is claimed to be able to travel between 120 and 140km on electric power alone, according to an NEDC testing.The regular Sealion 6 front-wheel drive variants can travel up to 92km on electric power, whereas the Sealion 6 Premium Standard Range AWD can travel up to 81km on electric power, both according to NEDC testing.Total range for the new Sealion 6 Dynamic Extended Range is 1092km according to WLTP testing. It also has a claimed fuel consumption of 0.8L/100km with a battery state of charge from 20-100 per cent. Under this it's claimed to consume 4.8L/100km.Like the other front-wheel drive Sealion 6 models, power comes from a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a front-mounted electric motor. Total system output is 160kW of power.The BYD Sealion 6 Dynamic trims uniquely pick up a new black interior colourway.The Sealion 6 Essential and Premium Standard Range AWD continue to come with a black and brown interior colour as standard. The latter trim is also offered with a no-cost blue and grey colourway.Over the Sealion 6 Essential, the Dynamic trims also pick up a power tailgate, rotating 15.6-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 10-speaker Infinity sound system, head-up display, RBG interior ambient lighting, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, metal door sill trims, heated and ventilated front seats, eight-way power driver's seat adjustment, front parking sensors and a surround-view camera.Exterior paint colour choices for the Sealion 6 remain unchanged. They include Arctic White, Stone Grey, Harbour Grey and Cosmos Black.All the finishes except Arctic White cost an additional $900.

Diesel as a fuel source might not be dead yet, but the vultures are circling, waiting for their prey to finally stop moving. Don’t believe me? It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see into a future already so clearly laid out, and not just by newcomer brands, but by some of the biggest proponents of diesel engines in the history of the fuel.

The next-generation XPeng P7 has debuted in China, with enviable specifications to put an end to range anxiety.

The Australian new car landscape is getting reformed in front of our eyes. July sales figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), showed the cars and brands Aussies are loving and the ones we are falling out of love with.

Think back to the before times – before GWM sent its Cannon Alpha PHEV charging up Beer O'Clock Hill, before BYD caught the old-guard napping with its Shark 6, and before brands like MG, JAC and more announced their own plans for innovative dual cabs.

If you need any more proof that China is becoming the dominant force in Australia’s automotive landscape, consider this.In the first six months of this year, 102,938 Chinese-made vehicles have been sold in Australia. Flash back five years to 2020, Chinese vehicle sales totalled just 11,055 in the same six-month period.That’s an 831 per cent increase in just five years. At this rate, China will overtake Thailand as the number two country of origin in Australia by next year. Japan is currently number one for imports, but for how long?Clearly a large number of Australians have no issue buying Chinese-built cars.The top 10 car brands for the first half of the year include Chinese giants GWM and BYD in seventh and eighth place respectively, while Tesla - which only imports cars to Australia from China - is ninth and SAIC-owned MG is just outside the table in eleventh.Yet looking at some of the commentary around this trend you’d be mistaken for thinking otherwise. There’s still a lot of negativity around Chinese brands and models despite the appetite for them here in Australia. But is it warranted?Honestly, it’s complicated.I appreciate some people have a moral issue buying a Chinese car given the long list of alleged current and historical human rights abuses carried out by the Chinese government. This is understandable.However, you could argue that if you take a stand against a particular country for historical human rights abuses there wouldn't be many countries left to buy cars from. The US isn’t exactly covering itself in glory when it comes to human rights at the moment.Other people take issue with the perceived quality of Chinese-made vehicles, in terms of build quality, materials and what they’re like to drive. And some of this concern is absolutely valid.The first crop of Chinese cars to hit Australia were, largely, awful. GWM, back in 2009 when it was just called Great Wall, served up some stinkers. The V240 SUV and X240 ute were terrible to drive, had poor build quality and the ute was even engulfed in an asbestos scandal.MG’s reboot as a Chinese-owned marque started in 2013 with the already dated MG6 sedan, but before it, Chery’s terrible trio of the J1 and J3 hatches and the J11 SUV ensured an early exit for the brand.Even some more recent attempts have been less than successful. Poorly calibrated advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) impacted Chery’s relaunch here a few years back with the Omoda 5, while even Deepal’s own company executives admitted the S07 EV was the most annoying car on sale in Australia thanks to incessant beeping and ADAS intervention.And, having driven a large number of Chinese cars currently on sale in Australia, I can confirm it is a mixed bag of good, bad and in between.But things are changing fast. I spent some time recently in China driving a raft of new models from BYD. While the test track was far too limited to develop decent drive impressions, it’s clear the overall quality of their cars has improved significantly. The interior design, materials used and even things like seat design impressed a lot of us hardened Aussie motoring writers.MG is on a roll at the minute, too. While I am yet to drive one myself, everyone that’s tested the MGS5 EV, including our very own Laura Berry, has raved about it. It’s like an SUV version of the already impressive MG4, only even better.GWM is consistently improving its models as it goes and having driven cars like the Tank 300 diesel and Haval H6 GT PHEV, I can confirm this to be true. Hiring noted former GM Holden engineer Rob Trubiani to tune its products will only help further.The quality of Tesla’s product improved greatly when Australian sourcing shifted from the USA to China a few years back.Granted, there are still some decidedly average cars in many of the Chinese brands’ model range.But to dismiss all cars from China is to fight a losing battle. Check those sales numbers again. Very soon half of the brands in the top 10 will be from China. GWM, MG and BYD all have ambitions for the top five or top three and some of the legacy brands aren’t doing much to stop them.I have had some alarming conversations with executives from legacy brands about China’s rise. I won’t name names, but multiple execs from top 10 brands have dismissed the popularity of Chinese brands in Australia and their potential to take over the industry. There is a sense from some that buyer loyalty will ultimately lead people back to long-standing brands.But this ignores the fact that hundreds of thousands of Australians don’t care about loyalty and they just want a good deal. And they are getting that in spades from the Chinese carmakers, much more than they are from the Japanese, Korean and European brands that have dominated for so long.So I guess what I am saying is, it might be time to get over the anti-China bias. Because you’re missing out on some pretty good cars. And in a few years there might not be as many non-Chinese brands to choose from.