BYD cuts prices to below pre-July levels

BYD New Zealand has cut prices across most of its range until the end of the year, less than four months after it put prices up on every model it sells.

The national campaign, called Pick your perk, takes $2,000 to $4,000 off 17 of the 20 variants in the line-up, from the Atto 1 city car to the Shark 6 ute. The offer runs until 31 December, and BYD says stock is available for immediate delivery.

In early July, BYD lifted prices by $1,000 across its passenger range and by $2,000 on the Shark 6, its first increase since 2023. General manager Warren Willmot said at the time that shipping, local logistics, exchange rates and higher staff costs had all been factored in. The rise came as record demand was stretching wait times for new cars.

The new cuts are larger than that increase on every model included. Dynamic variants come down $2,000, Premium variants $3,000 and Performance variants $4,000, which puts each of them $1,000 to $3,000 below where they sat before July.

The Sealion 7 Performance, for example, went from $79,990 to $80,990 in July and is now $76,990. The Shark 6 Premium rose from $69,990 to $71,990 and now sells for $68,990.

The cuts also go some way towards answering the main criticism of the Atto 3 Evo in a review by our sister site EVs and Beyond this week, which found the updated SUV was no longer competitive on price. The entry-level Evo Dynamic tested drops $2,000 to $57,990, the Premium $3,000 to $62,990 and the Performance $4,000 to $71,990.

The three entry-level Essential models, the Atto 1, Atto 2 DM-i and Sealion 5, aren’t included and stay at their post-July prices of $30,990, $34,990 and $43,990. That leaves the Atto 1 Essential still above the $30,000 mark it crossed in July, while the Atto 1 Premium drops to $33,990, $2,000 less than before the rise.

All prices are plus on-road costs.