BYD sets Australian sales forecasts for Atto SUVs and 2026

BYD outlines its 2026 sales expectations

BYD Australia is targeting 100,000 local vehicle sales in 2026, GoAuto reports, as its executives set monthly expectations for two SUVs at their Australian media launch. Chief operating officer Stephen Collins told the publication he would be disappointed if the electric and plug-in hybrid Atto 2 versions did not sell a combined 1500 vehicles a month. He expects the updated, electric Atto 3 EVO to sell around 500–600 a month. Those numbers are BYD’s expectations, not sales already achieved. ¹

The annual target follows 52,415 Australian BYD sales in 2025, according to CarExpert’s figures published by PerthNow. CarExpert also reports that BYD stood second behind Toyota on year-to-date sales after August 2026. GoAuto describes the 100,000-sale target as part of BYD’s effort to consolidate second place; the interim ranking does not establish where the brand will finish the year. ¹³⁶

Plug-in hybrid expected to lead Atto 2 sales

Collins expects the plug-in hybrid Atto 2 DM-i to account for roughly 60 per cent of Atto 2 sales and the battery-electric version for 40 per cent, although he said the market would determine the eventual mix. Applied to 1500 sales a month, that estimate would amount to approximately 900 DM-i vehicles and 600 electric Atto 2s. BYD chief product officer Sajid Hasan also told GoAuto he expects the DM-i to outsell the electric version. ¹

GoAuto identifies the Atto 2 DM-i as Australia’s cheapest plug-in hybrid and says its battery-electric counterpart launched locally in 2025. The publication describes the DM-i as the only plug-in hybrid currently being produced for Australia in the sub-$45,000 small-SUV segment, while noting remaining Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV stock listed on that brand’s website. Hasan named the Toyota Corolla Cross, Chery Tiggo 4 Hybrid and GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid among the small SUVs BYD considers competitors, while arguing that the DM-i has no direct plug-in hybrid rival in that part of the market. ¹

Hasan said the DM-i could be driven without external charging, using petrol to charge its battery, and claimed fuel use of 5.6L/100km in that mode. That is a BYD claim reported by GoAuto, not an independently measured result. The company’s proposed sales split likewise remains an estimate rather than a recorded pattern of demand. ¹

Atto 3 EVO forecast against earlier deliveries

The Atto 3 EVO updates the mid-size electric SUV with which BYD entered Australia in 2022. GoAuto says the preceding Atto 3 averaged approximately 475 local deliveries a month from January to July 2026; EVO order books opened the following month. The earlier model’s monthly average for the whole of 2025 was about 322. BYD’s 500–600-a-month forecast for the EVO exceeds both averages, but it has yet to be demonstrated in deliveries. ¹

CarExpert reports 3901 Australian Atto 3 sales in the first eight months of 2026, alongside 7737 for the electric Atto 2 and 17,277 for the electric Sealion 7. Those are sales recorded over an eight-month period, not results for the newly introduced Atto 2 DM-i or an achieved monthly rate for the Atto 3 EVO. ⁶

Ranking ambitions and a broader sales base

BYD’s ranking ambition predates these SUV forecasts. Chasing Cars reported in May that Collins wanted the brand to finish 2026 in Australia’s top three by sales. In July, BYD public relations director Paul Ellis told GoAuto that overtaking Toyota was not a priority, while reiterating the top-three goal. The later second-place year-to-date standing is consistent with progress towards that goal, but is not a final ranking. ⁴²

BYD is also seeking a larger fleet business. Collins told CarExpert, in an interview published by PerthNow on 28 September, that fleet sales had grown from seven or eight per cent of BYD’s mix a year earlier to 20 per cent, with an aspiration to reach the mid-30s. CarExpert’s breakdown of 2025 sales puts private buyers at 82.8 per cent and businesses at 15.9 per cent, with government and rental buyers accounting for the remainder. Those figures describe buyer categories in 2025, rather than the current fleet share Collins cited. ³

Collins also told CarExpert that BYD had 120 Australian retailers and expected to reach 150 by the end of 2026 and 200 by the end of 2027, with current expansion focused on provincial and rural areas. That updates the network count reported by AutoTalk in February, when BYD had approximately 100 locations and was aiming for 150 by year-end. The 150- and 200-outlet figures remain plans, not completed expansion. ³⁵