BYD is now a serious player in the Australian new car market, building strong volume in just five years.

At the recent launch of the Sealion 5 and Sealion 8 models, the boss of BYD Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Collins told local motoring media the brand is ready to take the next step.

“Chinese brands went from zero to 20 per cent market share in five years,” Collins said. “BYD is here to succeed, we delivered our 85,000th vehicle last week, and we pride ourselves on our speed to the market, we are faster than any other brand.”

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That speed to market will see the brand introduce a slew of new models to accelerate sales. “We’ve got seven or eight new cars, that we can’t tell you about today, that will be here within the next 12 months,” Collins said. “It goes back to our commitment to offer new energy vehicles to as many Australians as we can. And we want our range to be as broad as it can be.”

Another part of the plan for the next phase of BYD’s growth in the Australian market will focus on a strengthening of the existing dealer network, in addition to a further rapid expansion to strengthen brand presence and access to service for owners. “In mid 2024, we had 50 dealers, then 100 by the end of 2025,” Collins said. “By the end of this year, we will have 150 dealers that will be full sales, service and parts.”

Collins said BYD will continue to work on and improve the customer service experience after purchase, and work hard to reduce wait times for service and parts availability – something that has been an issue not just for BYD but other challenger brands entering the Australian market.

“We want two move from a challenger position, to a leadership way of thinking,” Collins said. “We want to be a leader in technology, offer all Australians affordable new energy vehicles with the latest technology, performance, safety and connectivity.”

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Collins said BYD is aware that Australia is currently experiencing an ‘absolute transformation of the new car market’ and that wave is being ridden by quick to react companies who can bring a new vehicle to market, in key segments, quickly.

“BYD Australia was the number one volume contributor for the company in the APAC region in 2025,” Collins said. “We will work hard to keep that accolade. We will stay humble, stay authentic, and invest in our brand.”

Two areas BYD has identified that will assist in this growth trajectory is fleet sales, and the presence of tailored, local engineering to ensure BYD vehicles are fit for purpose for the Australian market. “We’ve got five dedicated, full-time engineers in Australia, supported by two engineering teams in China,” Collins said. “We are committed to local success with focused product.”

On the subject of fleet sales, despite BYD’s move up the charts, the brand is not maximising sales to fleets anywhere near the most successful brands in that part of the market. “Fleet is a key opportunity, because it’s 35 per cent of all new vehicle sales,” Collins said. “It’s a core and stable segment, fit for purpose and whole of life cost is the key driver, but BYD’s fleet volume is low, currently at 10 percent of our sales, so there’s huge opportunity moving forward.”

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Collins also says that BYD will continue to serve Australia’s demand for SUVs and light commercial vehicles, with its Shark 6 a particular sales success. “Australians still love SUVs and light commercial vehicles,” he said. “It’s an 80 per cent market share, and Chinese OEMs are responding to that demand the fastest. Buyers want more new energy vehicles in those segments, and they want them with both five and seven-seat capability in the SUV segments.”