Having received 1,500 orders for the BYD Atto 3 in the first month of his launchingwith 1,000 orders placed in the first 10 daysSime Darby Motors – through its BYD SD Motors Malaysia division: reportedly set to increase sales of the all-electric SUV to 3,000 units per month. That push sounds ambitious, but it may be too ambitious right now, according to RHB Investment Bank.
In a research note, analyst Jim Lim Khai Xhiang said hitting those numbers could be difficult. “Sime Darby Motors is targeting sales of 3,000 Atto 3 units per month, which we believe is a big challenge given the lack of demand for electric vehicles in Malaysia,” he said in the note.
There was also very little indication that local assembly of the SUV would take place in the near future. The Chinese automaker has stated that it will be invest RM500 million in the countrybut this will be for the development of a network of showrooms, with no mention of assembly plans yet.
“With the existing import and excise duty exemption for fully built electric vehicles (CBUs), BYD currently has no incentive to assemble its cars locally. With BYD’s upcoming component factory in Vietnam and Thailand assembly plant, we believe the automaker will only consider assembly operations in Malaysia, given the high adoption of EVs in the ASEAN region,” says the company. note.
Additionally, the investment bank said that Sime Darby Motors would be launching more BYD models in Malaysia this year, reiterating what it said earlier. He said that SDM would introduce the Dolphin EA1 rear window, Seal sedan and e6 minivan in 2023.
During the launch of Atto 3, it was revealed that Dolphin and Seal were due to arrive here sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, and e6’s planned entry here was confirmed by the company Already in September of last year. Both the Dolphin and the Seal were featured in the debut of the Atto 3.
The Dolphin is available in 174hp/290Nm and 94hp/180Nm versions, both powered by a 44.9 kWh LFP Blade battery. On a full charge, the maximum operating range for the higher performance unit is 401 km, while the lower performance variant offers 405 km, both on an NEDC cycle. There’s also a base Dolphin, which comes with the same 94hp/180Nm motor, but mated to a 30.7kWh battery for a range of up to 301km on the NEDC cycle.
As for the Seal, there are four variants available in the domestic market, and it remains to be seen which one will make it here. The RWD Elite and Premium have a single 201-hp motor driving the rear wheels and are equipped with a 61.4 kWh Blade battery that offers 550 km of CLTC-rated range.
There is also a long-range RWD, which features a 308hp motor paired with an 82.5kWh battery, increasing the travel range to 700km. Finally, there is the Long Range AWD Performance, a twin-engine variant with 523 hp and an operating range of 650 km.
GALLERY: BYD Atto 3 launch in Malaysia
GALLERY: BYD Seal and Dolphin EA1 previewed in Malaysia
GALLERY: BYD EA1 Dolphin
GALLERY: BYD Seal
GALLERY: Second-generation BYD e6 (Singapore market)
GALLERY: Second-generation BYD e6 (Thailand market)
