BYD Atto 1 (Seagull) and Atto 2 - Will You Consider It?

I am looking for a new car, and I am actually excited about these upcoming new offerings from BYD from November: Atto 1 (Seagull) and Atto 2. Atto 1 is (supposedly) going to be the most affordable EV.

The initial estimate for Atto 1 will be $25000 or less before on-road costs, Atto 2 would be less than $39990. Will you consider them?


https://www.drive.com.au/news/2026-byd-atto-1-confirmed-as-a…

https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/australias-cheapest-ev…

BYD Australia has announced it will introduce the all-electric Atto 1 city hatch here next month, with the promise it will become the nation’s most affordable electric vehicle (EV).

The BYD Atto 1 – sold as the Seagull in China and the Dolphin Surf in Europe – will land at the same time as the larger Atto 2 small SUV, which BYD had previously confirmed for local showrooms but hadn’t announced timing until now.

Both compact EVs will be joined by the Toyota RAV4-rivalling Sealion 5 PHEV mid-size SUV and the bigger Sealion 8 PHEV large SUV in early 2026, which will rival the Mazda CX-80 as the first seven-seat BYD model to appear in local showrooms.

Local pricing, specifications and further details are yet to be announced, but the company has made a confident claim about pricing for the Atto 1: “The Atto 1 will be Australia’s most affordable EV by some margin,” said BYD Australia chief operating officer, Stephen Collins, in a statement.

Poll Options

  • 12
    Yes, Atto 1 (seagull)
  • 1
    Yes, Atto 2
  • 23
    Yes, Atto 1 or Atto 2 (I need to check them out first)
  • 3
    Nah, I need a bigger BYD car
  • 15
    Nah, I prefer Tesla (or other EV brands)
  • 40
    Nah, I prefer ICE cars
  • 1
    Nah, even Atto 1 is too expensive. I cannot afford it.
  • 7
    Nah, I don't need a car right now

Comments

  • MG4 pips it in almost every category

    • +3

      Sure but the MG4 is a bigger car with a considerably higher driveway price.

      • I'd say 4.3m is still quite small by car standards - especially for Australia.

        Also you can get a secondhand one with minimal k's and 7+ years left on the warranty for $25-$26k which is right in the ballpark for this car.

        • +2

          That's the nature of new vs used cars. And I'm totally with you - I'd much prefer to buy a 2 year old used EV than a brand new one.

          All I'm saying is that the MG4 is a bigger, and meaningfully expensive car. If you want to buy a new EV, you have to spend ~20% extra for an MG4 over these new cheap models.

    • +3

      Arguably theres also a whole list of cars that are better than the MG4, and the car better than the car better than the MG4 etc etc. But you go up in size and price at each step.

  • +3

    why are people so keen for new cars?
    what car do you have currently?

    • +1

      What does it matter to you? People need a car. They have a question, that's all that you need to know.

      • -6

        I am looking for a new car

        Mean they already have a car, i wanna know why they need a new car and what car they have

    • An old car that uses heaps of petrol.

    • 20 year old car, plastic bits are perished and seats and steering wheel worn out, so looking at EV as next car only drive about 500km a week, have driveway so can charger at home.

  • +1

    If these come with V2G capability (particularly the Atto 1). I'd be very intrigued.
    Post FBT benefit, the cost of the car would be more than an equivalent battery (but not too much more), and the fact it can be the runabout when you need it might sell it for me.
    P.s my knowledge of home/grid electricity system is limited (beyond base switchboard troubleshooting) so please correct me if im mistaken

    • V2G chargers are the problem, they're not readily available. Despite that Starcharge "launched" their V2G charger 3 months ago, I can't find anywhere that actually sells one. A few power retailers are starting to trial them on the grid (Origin has a cool plan, $800 a month for an Atto 3 inc charger), but the RRP is apparently $6k.

      • I'm waiting for the new SolarEdge ONE EV Charger to be released in Australia. It's bidirectional so V2H/V2G won't be a problem, and it's DC-coupled so it's very efficient when directing energy from solar panels straight to the car.

  • +1

    BYD was meant to be releasing a 7 seater (Denza).. wheres that?

    • -4

      already rusted out

  • +1

    $25k for a portable 30kWh battery with V2G is awesome value brand new! Even a better V2G battery at resale :P

    • Not bad value but by far not the cheapest option for a home battery.

      You can get much bigger battery capacity for the same price using the Cheaper Home Batteries program.

  • You must work for BYD?

    • No, not at all …..

  • The Seagull is a perfectly good city car, but for my use the base model would be underpowered. 0 to 100 time is 13 seconds. The nice thing about EVs is they're quick off the line, so having a car this slow is a step backwards.

    Still, anything that helps bring down the entry level price for EVs is overall very good for the market.

    • 13 seconds is certainly slow but in most cities it will barely be noticeable beyond perhaps having to push the accelerator slightly harder. But outside the city it will be more of a pain

      • +3

        It's merging onto highways that's nasty. Trying to enter the highway and you're not at highway speeds yet can be fairly terrifying.

        • Yeah. All those terrofied truck drivers getting around. Dont know how they survive.

        • -1

          Most people are already moving when entering an on-ramp and aren't starting from zero.

          • +1

            @smartazz104: Check out a Melbourne freeway. There's red lights at the start of the on-ramp to queue traffic.

    • -1

      Agree. Anything more than 6 seconds is not even a consideration unless you hate life and yourself.

      • +3

        I still remember when Brock commodores wouldn't do under 6 seconds for 0-100. My current car does no where near that and I don't have any problems with merging onto highways.

    • I've read reviews of those who bought the 70kw version of BYD Dolphin and it seems to be fine around the city. As of Atto 1, for me it's having only 2 seats at the back which limits its utility. Atto 1 is only 5cm narrower than Dolphin, and more than 10cm wider than KIA Picanto that has 3 seats at the back.

      • +2

        Even you are using 2 back seats regularly, let alone 3, I'd get a bigger car.

        2 back seats is fine for a car of this size. Even the Civic Type R has only 2 back seats.

        3 people in a KIA Picanto would be torture.

        • Oh, I did have to squeeze 3 kids at the back of a Picanto before out of necessity :) But that's what the small cars are about — they are usually just zipping around the town, easy to park and economical to run (in terms of kw/km). However once in a blue moon when you need to transport extra people in a short trip, it is still capable of that (despite of discomfort).

          • @scotty: You can but doesn't mean it's comfortable especially as kids grow up.

            I have a GR86 2 seats at the back, but our family of 4 with 2 young kids have only been in that car altogether once. Kids complaining.

            Please tell me it's a Picanto GT

            • @JimB: You seem to think that people buy these small cars to raise a family but it's just a shopping trolly / city roundabout. Kids have friends and suddenly they all decided to go somewhere, and my usual family car is at capacity (a 7-seat SUV) — then a capable 2nd car would be useful in this case, if it has enough seats.

              Nah it was just a regular Picanto that's the cheapest car I can get temporarily from GoGet.

              • @scotty: No I don't, I'm saying if you regularly drive 4 or more people, I'd get a bigger car.

    • How does the 0-60km/h time compare? Just because its slow to 100 doesnt mean its too slow for city traffic. EVs are pretty good off the line, so being a little slower overall doesnt mean itll be slower off the line than a current ICE car that meeds to build power amd change gears to get going.

      I really dont know what the obsession with crazy 0-100 times is. The 20yo diesel 4x4 ute i drove doesnt often need more acceleration in traffic.

    • +1

      14.9 seconds0-100km/h for the base model according to NRMA.

      https://www.mynrma.com.au/open-road/car-reviews/byd/2026-byd…

      You must be talking about the hottted up model.

    • 0 to 100 time is 13 seconds

      As fast as any Camry or Corolla, at least that's how fast they seem to be given the type of people that drive them…

  • +2

    I think I’ll be replacing the wife’s car with the Atto 1. It will fit that role for her perfectly. She drives about 10km a day and only to work or to her friend’s house or shopping. She gets free charging at work and we have solar at home. Had it have been available at the time, i would have bought an Atto 1 (Seagull) over the Atto 3.

    • +3

      Ditto. Looking to replace the wife's aging Honda Jazz. The Atto 1 is pretty close in size and given the use case (shopping/city run-a-bout), it looks to be a good replacement.

      • +1

        Absolutely a great replacement case. Don’t need to put fuel in it. Low km and smaller battery means that it should be quick to charge. Still enough range to go for a drive the next town over.

        And it looks like it is going to be priced in a pretty good place now that the money grubbing EV Direct has had their fingers removed from the pie. It is going to be very much on par with most other vehicles in this size range. Why buy a petrol car in this size bracket when you can get an EV for almost the same price and then not have to worry about expensive servicing or being at the mercy of petrol companies.

        I do love all these people moaning about the 0 to 100 times for a car that’s built for being a city car that will probably not see speeds higher than 80km/h all that often. This isn’t a highway vehicle and I think with the way torque is applied from EV’s, this is still going to feel like a nippy little car while stuck in traffic.

        • +1

          Wife's not looking to do the local Friday/Saturday night traffic light duel with the WRX/Skyline mob. Don't need to be pulling 6secs to the 100km when pulling out of the Westfield car park.

  • +1

    No.

  • +1

    my camry does fine

    • Same here. Toyota's are the best, I don't even know why other brands exist.

      • -2

        my bmws do fine

  • -1

    I voted I only like ICE cars but only because there was no option to say they don't appeal as a car / don't like the way they look.

  • +3

    The "I prefer ICE cars" choice is leading which surprises me. I have always considered Ozbargainers quite informed.

    • There are real people who have use cases that EVs don't work well in. A frequent need to travel to remote areas, or tow heavy loads meaningful distances, are the two most common ones.

      But it only takes a quick visit to one of OzBargain's automotive discussion threads to see there are ton of comments about EVs that are poorly informed, deliberately misleading or just plain dumb.

      Having said that, while the poll has several options, none of them apply to me specifically. I already drive an EV, but I have zero interest in these very small cars

    • If you don't like what I like, you are poorly informed.

      Thanks for the update 👍

  • I've had a new BYD Dolphin Premium for a week and already had another EV for 2 years prior. Would 100% buy an Atto 1 over a petrol alternative like a Kia Picanto/ MG3 as a first car for my kids. If the novated lease benefits are still around when they are old enough in a couple of years it's a no-brainer (particularly being able to get insurance for someone that age on tax-free payments).

  • so they can't decide on a name? and Atto1 is better than Seagull, really?

  • Haven’t there been loads of issues with BYD not complying with repair laws and general servicing complaints?

    (Happy to be corrected, would love a sub $30k EV!)

Login or Join to leave a comment