BYD pushes parts supply and service network expansion as after-sales catches up with sales growth

A network built at record speed now needs to service it

BYD Australia has grown faster than its support systems, and the company says fixing that gap is now a defining priority. GoAutoNews Premium reported in February 2026 that the brand, which entered the market through distributor EV Direct before becoming factory-backed in 2025, had risen to become Australia's sixth-most popular brand on January 2026 sales figures, with sales climbing from 2,113 units at the end of 2022 to more than 52,000 at the end of 2025. Chief operating officer Stephen Collins told the publication at the Sealion 5 and Sealion 8 launch that the growth was 'not without its challenges', putting pressure on logistics, supply and dealers, and that 'service and parts (supply) is an area we are working very hard to improve, but we are investing in the right people, the facilities, and everything that we really should be investing in'. ¹

Autotalk Australia reported that BYD finished 2025 as the country's eighth-best-selling brand with 4.3 per cent market share on 52,415 deliveries, and that Collins described a mindset shift 'from a challenger brand to more of a leadership way of thinking'. He told the launch gathering that the plan was to build the brand, keep the flow of new models coming, expand the dealer network, grow fleet opportunity and deliver a good customer experience. ⁴

The strain was not abstract. News.com.au reported that BYD's after-sales performance came under scrutiny in late 2025 as sales surged, with owners publicly raising concerns about long repair times, delays sourcing parts and difficulty securing timely service appointments, and some owners describing vehicles off the road for extended periods with repair timelines stretching to six months. Collins told the publication the growth was 'not an excuse' but acknowledged rapid expansion put pressure on the business, saying 'we know we can do better. We know we need to do better'. ⁵

From about 120 sites to roughly 200 by early 2027

The most detailed picture of the network build-out comes from Open Road, the NRMA's publication, which reported that BYD plans to expand its Australian dealer network to around 200 locations by early 2027. Collins told Open Road the company currently has about 120 sales and service sites, with another 30 planned by the end of 2026 and about 50 more in early 2027. If achieved, that would place BYD's network at a similar scale to established mainstream brands such as Ford and Mitsubishi, while Toyota retains the largest network with more than 275 locations. ³

Collins told Open Road that much of the expansion would sit outside the major cities, improving access to sales, servicing and parts for regional customers, and that some regional service facilities would be shared with Denza, BYD's premium brand, as it establishes itself in Australia. 'Regional and provincial, that's been our focus for our rollout of more dealers, which is more sales, service and parts capacity,' he said. ³

The targets have moved as the programme has progressed. News.com.au reported in February 2026 that BYD expected 150 dealerships by mid-2026 including expanded regional and rural coverage. Autotalk Australia reported Collins telling the Sealion 5 and Sealion 8 launch that the network grew from 50 dealers in mid-2024 to 100 by the end of 2025, saying: 'By the end of this year, we will have 150 dealers that will be full sales, service and parts.' The Open Road figures of roughly 120 sites today and approximately 200 by early 2027 represent the most recent dated position in that sequence. ³⁴⁵

Service waits, first-time fixes and the parts pipeline

On workshop performance, Collins told Open Road that average service booking waits across the BYD network were now around seven days, with variation between locations, and that the company aims to bring that down. 'We think that's okay, but I think we can do better,' he said. 'I think the sweet spot is more that sort of four to five-day spot.' He said improving first-visit repair success depended on technician training, workshop processes and parts being readily available. ³

On parts availability, Open Road reported that BYD currently claims a 95 per cent local parts fill rate, meaning that in 95 per cent of cases where a replacement part is required the company says it already holds that part somewhere in Australia, even if it must be transferred between cities or dealerships. Where a part is not in the country and a vehicle is off the road, Collins said BYD would air freight it. News.com.au, reporting on the same figure earlier in 2026, noted Collins said the industry benchmark for parts availability sits around that level. ³⁵

The fill-rate figure is not consistent across BYD's own statements. Open Road noted the 95 per cent claim differs slightly from the 97 per cent fill rate cited by BYD during its broader product presentation, reflecting that parts availability can vary depending on how the measure is calculated and when it is taken. ³

Warehousing underpins the supply chain. News.com.au reported that late last year BYD invested in a 20,000-square-metre parts warehouse in Melbourne, with Collins saying the company was looking at expanding to other warehouses around the country 'in the next few months'. GoAutoNews Premium likewise reported Collins describing heavy investment in dealership and servicing infrastructure, warehousing operations and customer support centres, with a goal of reducing customer wait times for vehicles 'to days, not weeks'. ⁵¹

Why fleet makes after-sales the harder test

Fleet is where BYD's support gaps matter most commercially. Autotalk Australia reported Collins saying business fleets represent only 16 per cent of BYD's sales mix against an industry average of 35 per cent, with BYD's fleet volume 'currently at 10 percent of our sales, so there's huge opportunity moving forward'. He told the publication that whole-of-life cost is the key driver in the fleet segment, and that BYD has established a dedicated division targeting fleet customers. ⁴

The wider support challenge is not unique to BYD. Tembo e-LV, an electric utility-vehicle maker, published an analysis in July 2026 arguing that global EV manufacturers can scale production faster than they can scale local industrial support, and that this gap may decide who wins the electric utility-vehicle market. It noted BYD's Australian after-sales base 'strained to keep pace' as sales grew past 100,000 local vehicles in under three and a half years, with repair times lengthening and some owners reporting months-long waits for components, and pointed to the company's Melbourne parts warehouse, claimed 95 per cent fill rate and dealer network build-out as the response. ²

Tembo's analysis also cited industry-wide repair constraints reported by the Guardian: only around one in ten Australian repairers is certified to service electric vehicles, and NRMA Insurance research found 62 per cent of EV owners are concerned about the lack of qualified EV repairers in their area. For a brand courting fleet buyers who measure vehicles by uptime, Collins told Open Road that the ultimate measure is retention: 'Selling the car is one thing, but giving people a really good experience throughout the lifecycle of the vehicle, ultimately the measure is people coming back.' ²³