With brutal gas prices in mind, tech blogger Elly Awesome has found an “affordable” electric car — and some people even get a $3k sweetener.
Gas prices are brutal right now and I know everyone is in pain when filling up. This is partly why I’ve been on a mission to find commuting alternatives, such as electric vehicles, to save money.
Through this search I found out whether there are ‘affordable’ electric cars available in Australia and left me pleasantly surprised with what’s on the horizon.
Recently, I have become interested in the Chinese electric vehicle brand called BYD (short for Build Your Dreams).
It’s a quirky brand name, but the company has a lot of credit when it comes to producing electric cars.
BYD started out as a battery manufacturer and is still a renowned battery brand and now it has been almost twenty years since they started producing cars.
There are actually many BYD vehicles used as public transportation vehicles in China and here you may even have the Electric Blu. seen or seen Sydney Airport buses that are BYD electric vehicles.
Needless to say, while BYD is a relatively new brand to Australians, this car company is poised to dive into the Australian electric vehicle market.
More than 3,600 people are said to have already made a $1,000 upfront payment for BYD’s Atto 3 through EVDirect (the sole Australian importer) earlier this year.
This will be the first BYD car to launch in Australia and it will arrive in July for $44,990 driving. This will be Australia’s cheapest electric car ever, and if you order from NSW you’ll probably even qualify for a government EV discount that offers you $3,000 cashback. The car is available in four colors – red, blue, gray and white – and the battery offers a range of more than 400 km from a full charge.
Even more exciting, EVDirect is rumored to be also importing BYD’s smaller car, popularly known as the BYD Dolphin, at the end of the year. And rumor has it that the Dolphin will cost somewhere around $35,000 Australian dollars, which would then be Australia’s cheapest electric car by far. This will certainly make it a real alternative to mid-range petrol cars.
I recently viewed both cars in the BYD showroom in Sydney and was amazed at their features. They both have an extremely futuristic interior with large rotating touchscreens in the center of the dashboard, charging options for cordless phones, regenerative braking (which recharges the battery while you brake) and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support is coming in Q4 2022.
What’s more exciting, they both have Vehicle to Load adapters that allow you to plug in and power any regular home appliance (with a three-prong plug), such as a TV, laptop charger, blender or generator.
Both cars have a range of approximately 400 km when fully charged and can either be charged at home with the car plugged in (but it’s very slow!) or faster at a charging station.
With an EV charging station, both cars are expected to charge from about 30 percent battery to 80 percent in just 30 minutes if you use a fast charger.
And in my experience, fully charging an electric car at a public charging station in Australia only costs about $7-10 on average. And unlike previous hybrid or electric vehicles with disappointing battery life, the BYD Atto 3 (Dolphin unknown) comes with a seven-year warranty, giving you confidence in your long-term EV investment.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to test either car yet, I’ve only played with them in the showroom, but I’m more than excited to test drive the Atto 3 in the coming months. The Atto 3 should be available for a test drive at the Sydney BYD showroom from June or July, but more information will be available through Australian company EVDirect.
Elly Awesome is an Australian tech and lifestyle vlogger. † @ellyawesometech † YouTube
#Cheapest #electric #car #Aus #discount