As an avid follower of all things EV here and noticed that there is a storm brewing in the BYD Atto 3 camp.
Apart form the usual Karens carrying on how their vehicles have not been delivered yet, I had pause for thought when I started reading about their next source of their anger…
Apparently EVDirect released their warranty and servicing information and it seems to fly in the face of already established EV brands and irked off a lot of pre-order customers to the point where they are taking to social media and news outlets and kicking off about these costs and change in warranty…
Servicing;
It seems to be the 2 and 4 year services that have really gotten people upset at $504 and $661 respectively as well as this requirement to have the vehicle serviced every 12 months. Most other EV's are 24 month intervals with under $200 services, or, like Tesla, there is more of a "meh, service if you think it needs it" attitude.
Warranty;
Initially the Atto 3 was offered with a 7 year, unlimited km warranty. It has now been bought back to 6 years and 150,000km (Added: Note that EV battery is 8yr or 160,000km. Drive train is 8yr/150,000km). Some items, like the 12V accessory battery is as low as 12 months and suspension parts are only 4yr/100,000km. Things like charging port, wheel bearings and shock absorbers are 3yr/60,000km.
So, this begs the question… If you had a pre-order, does this news make you want to cancel your order? Or do you not care about the servicing costs/warranty? If you are a potential buyer, does this news turn you off buying one or you just accept it's part of buying a new vehicle?
TBH a lot of people will just see this as a win since it is cheaper than an ICE car and think its a good deal regardless. Peace of mind when you just drop it off at a Mycar, go shopping for a bit, and pick up your car later.