Comment by slaw
5 hours ago
Chinese EVs are 15% more expensive in Australia over China. The same could be in the US if not for tariffs.
5 hours ago
Chinese EVs are 15% more expensive in Australia over China. The same could be in the US if not for tariffs.
I’m going to guess that a true competitive push into the US market would have marginal costs that exceed getting into Oz. But anyway your comment inspired me to do some digging:
The high end Sea Lion 7 from BYD apparently tops out at around 205k yuan in China. $29k USD.
https://carnewschina.com/2025/05/08/byds-sealion-07-dm-i-lau...
Found it in Australia for $64k AUD, that’s $43k USD.
https://evdealergroup-byd.com.au/configurator/byd-sealion-7?...
That’s a lot more than a 15% markup. A Tesla Model Y Premium would be competitive at a minimum.
I would think the comparison would be the BYD ATTO 3 premium vs Tesla Y premium.
Australian sticker price for the atto 3 is under $45,000 AUD, a smidgen over $30K usd.
With a wife with a mobility scooter and working 30-90 mins away from the office depending on traffic, I picked on up (salary sacrificing) as the lease costs less than what I was paying for fuel on the Kia carnival (Sedona in the us) each week.
Tesla model 3 entry level was another $10K AUD for a car with less features.