Deliveries of the BYD Atto 3 EV are back underway after a several-week pause related to a technical compliance issue.
The keenly priced EV’s stop-delivery status centred around failure to comply with an Australian Design Rule requiring a top-tether child-seat attachment point for the middle-rear seat.
Deliveries of BYD Atto 3s were first paused by BYD and its importer EVDirect on October 21 for what was at that time at least one week. On October 28 the companies then extended this stop-sale by a further week – and then one more time after that.
The company promised to release more details on October 9, but appears to have sent out a customer notice on November 11 with the positive news.
“As you may know we have been in discussions with the local authorities for the last 4 weeks trying to clarify a technical issue regarding the ADR certification of the ATTO 3 vehicle,” said a customer notice, from both BYD Australia and EVDirect management.
“As part of that process, we made the decision to halt deliveries until such time as we could provide the necessary information to the department to resolve the issue.
“We are pleased to inform customers that we will now re-commence the delivery process of the ATTO 3. This is great news for our customers, and we thank you for your patience as we worked through the process.”
The letter mentioned some modifications would be made, as follows:
- The rear centre seat will now be able to be used for a child seat with a rear anchorage point available
- The ISOFIX child seat anchorages in the front passenger seat will be disengaged meaning no child seat can be used in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
“We realise the child seat positions do not impact the vast majority of our customers, but safety is, and always will be our number one priority which is why we decided to voluntarily halt deliveries whilst resolving this matter,” the letter said.
“Our Customer Care and Delivery Teams are now working to deliver your car as soon as possible and will contact you regarding delivery of your vehicle at the earliest possible time.”
EVDirect says it now has 10 delivery centres now “in full operational mode” across the country.
Clearly there was some sort of mix up between BYD/EVDirect and the department responsible for making sure all cars meet ADR stipulations. It’s important to note the department previously gave vehicle type (MA) approval to the Atto 3.
We’ve confirmed the current status with EVDirect this morning, and will seek clarity on how already delivered cars will be modified to meet ADR requirements.
Last month the Atto 3 failed to receive a five-star ANCAP crash rating for Australia – despite doing so in New Zealand and Europe under broadly the same NCAP protocols.
Instead, the BYD Atto 3 sold in Australia remains unrated, with ANCAP saying it’s now “working with BYD to finalise the applicability of a rating for Australian-specified models”.
We will contact ANCAP to learn about the potential for an Australian safety rating to be applied.
MORE: 2023 BYD Atto 3 review
MORE: 2023 BYD Atto 3 v MG ZS EV comparison
