Impressive range and step-off are announced for the EA1 – and it could be a cheapie, too.

A SMALL electric hatchback with a 1000 kilometre range and a sub three seconds acceleration seems set to be part of a sales push by a Chinese brand seeking to establish here.

The EA1 hatchback is a product of BYD – for ‘Build Your Dreams’ - revealed at this week’s Shanghai motor show in standard and performance themes.

The BYD brand has recently announced intention to begin sales in New Zealand and Australia, via an independent distributor, Nexport.

Media in Australia have suggested the EA1 will become a star model in a line-up also expected to include a Tesla Model 3-rivalling sedan called the Han, an electric sports utility called Tang, a plug-in hybrid crossover called Song and potentially the Qin, a small sedan.

This car, and a concept also on display, are the first products designed under the direction of the make’s newly-appointed global head of design Wolfgang Egger, a German formerly of Audi.

The EA1’s enormous driving performance and range arrive as result of it employing BYD’s latest technology, the brand says. The quoted figures for energy consumption and range might be treated with circumspection as China calculates with the NEDC formula, which is now considered outdated. The latest standard is WLTP.

The car is the first on a new e-Platform 3.0 and an 800-volt ‘Blade’ battery claimed to be capable of receiving 150km worth of charge every five minutes.

Battery capacity is yet to be revealed, but according to the Chinese carmaker, it will provide enough power to catapult the five-door from standstill to 100kmh in under 3.0 seconds – a feat that presently restricts to high-performance supercars and the fastest Teslas and is beyond any other small EV sold anywhere.

The battery cells are directly integrated into the vehicle's structure which frees up space and provides more structural rigidity, as well as safety, in the event of an accident.

The website for Australia’s Wheels magazine says Nexport has confirmed the EA1 will be coming, but was unable to reveal further information due to an embargo.

The distributor has claimed that it will place a small BYD car in a price zone that will reset the entry price for a new electric car, however it is unclear if that status will fall to the EA1 or another like-sized model, the BYD E2 which was first introduced in 2019.

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.

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.