China’s BYD considering NZ?

Reports from Australia and the United States suggest this.

The Song Plus, unveiled at the 2020 Shanghai Motor Show, is one of BYD’s latest models.

IS New Zealand an early stop on a roadmap for international expansion plotted by one of China's largest electric vehicle companies?

BYD – shorthand for ‘Build Your Dreams’ - has signed an agreement to sell cars in Australia, with the first cars due to arrive next year. According to a United States-based EV news website, InsideEVs.com, New Zealand is also part of that deal.

Meantime, Australia’s CarAdvice.com website has been first to reveal the plans for the brand’s official entry across the Tasman.

It explains that BYD, which has been experimenting in Australia with a handful of cars since 2015, will be represented by a distributor, Nexport, that plans to sell vehicles online only;. Pricing is expected to be revealed later this year.

The site says Nexport has dibs on being BYD’s right-hand drive market distributor within the Asia-Pacific region.

The arrangement marks the first third-party agreement of this kind that BYD has entered into globally and will be of benefit to buyers, as it will considerably reduce the products’ cost.

Presently, another China-based brand, MG, sells the cheapest new electric car in New Zealand. The MG ZS EV is a $48,990 proposition.

BYD also produces the HAN sedan.

Nexport chief executive Luke Todd told CarAdvice his business strategy "shakes up the Australian dealership model" and will "deliver high quality electric vehicles from the manufacturer direct to the customer".

"The dealership network model is broken when it comes to electric vehicles. Under our model, we will be reducing the price to consumers by as much as 30 percent," said Todd.

"A heavy reliance on aftersales and convoluted importation processes adds unnecessary cost. By revamping these processes, we're targeting a sale price that's at parity with internal combustion vehicles."

While Nexport has already imported current-generation BYD electric vehicles into Australia, they are not the final products Australians will be purchasing.

Nexport plans to launch a future range of BYD products that have yet to be revealed globally. They might include the Song Plus, a medium SUV that was revealed at last year’s Shanghai Auto Show.

"All next generation BYD products will feature the brand's proprietary 'Blade Battery' technology, and are unlike any other offerings currently in Australia," added Todd.

CarAdvice understands the first BYD cars destined for Australia – and presumably NZ - will be revealed at the Shanghai car show, on April 21.

We also expect that the Australian line-up will consist of only fully-electric offerings, and include a medium-sized SUV, and medium-sized sports sedan – similar to the BYD Han.

Nexport plans to pre-launch the BYD brand in Australia mid-way through this year, and begin accepting pre-orders at that time

BYD reportedly sold 461,399 vehicles globally last year, all in left-hand drive format, the majority within China. Of that figure, 130,970 were fully-electric vehicles, and 48,084 plug-in hybrids with internal combustion assistance.

The brand has hired former Audi head designer Wolfgang Egger as its chief designer, and has recently opened a multi-billion dollar electric vehicle R&D centre in Shenzhen, China.

Nexport is a subsidiary of Australian-owned renewable energy investment firm TrueGreen.

MG ZS EV our first sub-$50k electric car

The cheapest new electric car in the market just got cheaper

INTENT to establish the MG ZS EV as the country’s cheapest new electric car has seen the distributor move yet again on the pricing, clipping $7000 off the tag it had only recently set.

A repricing to $48,990, announced today, means the model becomes the first sub-$50,000 brand-new fully electric car and also means it retails for $1000 less than the ‘special introductory price’ that was offered to the first 50 orders, when that book was opened a year ago.

Once that count was fulfilled, MG revised the price to $50,100 for the next 100 pre-orders. Then, when the car ultimately landed, it debuted with an official sticker price of $55,990.

MG has not yet clarified if any remuneration cheques are in the mail.

The new pricing allows even more space between this model and others that could be conceived as rivals, though those cars - the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq EV and Volkswagen’s e-Golf - were still more expensive when the MG held its previous price. The e-Golf is really out of the hunt anyway, as supply of that model exhausts at the end of the month. 

The MG’s price drop could well raise its allure with the Government, which has recently signalled interest in accepting the models as a potential fleet car.

The electric MG comes with an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty plus a five year/unlimited kilometre vehicle warranty and five year roadside assist package.

“The first cars are arriving in dealers now and our business plan is designed to make EVs more affordable and available to everyone,” said MG Motor Australia and New Zealand chief executive Peter Ciao. 

“We are making a commitment that each electric vehicle sold by MG locally will offer value that encourages mainstream adoption. MG wants to make zero-emission motoring add up for the first time for customers locally.

“An attainable electric vehicle is the first step in creating demand in market which will lead to better infrastructure, something that MG Motor is a proud champion of.”

The ZS EV’s 44.5kWh battery pack is larger than that in the Leaf and Ioniq, but claimed combined range of 262 kilometres is less than for the Hyundai. MG says the car will achieve 370km at urban pace. The electric motor creates 105kW of power and 353Nm of torque.

Eighty percent charge is expected to come in 40 minutes when the MG is plugged into a 50kW CCS charger.

MG also recently put up interesting argument about the relevance of the products mixed heritage; being a ‘British’ brand now in ownership of China’s largest producer of electric cars, Shanghai Automotive.

Auckland-based country manager Antony MacLean conjects any reputational stigma is unwarranted and that a vehicle's country of origin is no longer relevant. 

Cars these days are international products, he says. As example, MG’s safety systems are from a German company, Bosch. He also reminded that as much as Apple is perceived as an American brand, it was common knowledge iPhones were only made in China.