Reduced wait times for customer purchases and repairs will come from BYD Australia taking full control of operations, according to local boss.
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Since taking over full control from July this year from third-party distributor EVDirect, BYD Australia is pledging a smoother sales and aftercare pathway for local customers.
Speaking to Drive, BYD Australia boss Stephen Collins said not only is the brand now able to better react to feedback – reflected in product changes – but has also reduced customer wait times on new orders.
“I think taking over as the OEM [original equipment manufacturer] really allows us to streamline things,” Collins said.
“And a good example is product planning. Our planning team has a direct line into the global product planning, design, engineering teams, so I think what that brings is just that direct input speed to get things solved, get things in the market.
“I think that's a real advantage for us.
“I think also that it just allows us to also obviously control the stock.
“We're not shy of holding stock, and we've had some issues in the past with some pretty long backorder times.
“I think they are two examples of where we're going to streamline the operations.”
BYD Australia is gearing up to launch four new models in the next six months, kicking off with the Atto 1 and Atto 2 in November, followed by the Sealion 5 and Sealion 8 in early 2026.
However, another area of improvement Collins highlighted, which is also mirrored by other Chinese car brands, is speed of repair and availability of parts – benefiting existing owners.
Reports indicate repair times of certain BYD models have ballooned to up to six months thanks to the process of sourcing and shipping parts, as well as carrying out the work itself on relatively new models.
The speed to market with which BYD, and others, have brought their products – often more complicated due to the heavy use of electrification – also introduces concerns over expertise and qualification of independent repairers.
“We've just invested in a 20,000 square-metre parts warehouse in the north of Melbourne. We're stocking that up right now,” Collins said.
“All of those things that just enables us to make a decision, make it happen and have that direct contact [with Chinese headquarters].
“But having said that, I would say that, EVDirect did a fantastic job setting up the brand to where it was when we took it over in July and our challenge is to keep it going, and we'll take it to the next level.”
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Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
