Cheapest brand new car in Australia.
BYD has cut the Atto 1 Essential's driveaway price to $19,990 nationwide, making it Australia's cheapest new car on sale, EV or petrol.
The previous cheapest new car, the MG3 Vibe, costs $20,990 driveaway, about $1,000 more than the Atto 1 Essential.
BYD will have more than 150 dealerships across Australia by the end of 2026, after opening about one new site a week over the past year.
Via Zecar
good thing this one doesnt have a transmission
thing this one doesnt have a transmission
It does. Don't recall any EVs being directly driven by the motor. Some would have 2 gears.
If anything, I would've more worried about the CB and capacitors going the miles.
In BYDs case, the AUX battery too.
Single-speed reduction gearbox on this car so I guess technically correct.
@donga100: The single speed reduction gearbox in an EV is far less complex than the multi-ratio gearboxes with clutch packs, synchros, shift solenoids and so on. You can also make the gears bigger/sturdier because you don't need to put in a bunch of them to form 6-10 ratios.
So when someone says they don't have a transmission, we know what they mean.
My ford focus has the transmission replaced twice it has more kms though
Its a ford so not unexpected either.
The Focus is also known for transmission issues
But Ozbargainers tell me only Chinese cars have issues, this is news to me.
@tightm8: So you're telling me that I should make that investment into a high performance Euro car.
@ATangk: It's either a high performance Euro car or a 1991 Camry that 'keeps it's resale value for 100 years'
Nothing in between allowed around here.
@tightm8: But Ozbargainers tell me only Chinese cars are worth buying now. Everything else is shit, overpriced, crap technology etc.
This is old news with the dual clutch powershift saga over 15 years ago. They have since upgraded it to a proper transmission.
i had atto before such a nightmare Infotainment/DiLink glitches: Screen freezes, blackouts, lag, wireless CarPlay/Android Auto dropouts, and radio issues—especially on early cars. Many improve with OTA updates.
Over-aggressive ADAS: Phantom braking, jerky lane-keep assist, and intrusive interventions (shadows, vegetation, narrow roads). Also improved via software.
plus battery failes after 12-24 ,months
not worth the price i would buy a japanese hybrid instead
Powershit…..errm shift??
My Commodore has never had the transmission replaced. No other major issues either.
But it IS 25 years old and has only done 365000 k's..
I have a ba falcon 23y/o, 360,000ks, no major issues. In fact not too many minor ones either beyond standard servicing. I'm the 2nd owner since 2005 and 32,000ks.
It's a 2nd car (workhorse) and has been less hassle than a host of 'high quality' euros in the household inc a merc bought new, 2 bimmers - one new, one bought just over a year old, and a demo Audi.
I just clicked your link and without watching your video I learnt from the top rated comment that petrol vehicles are a scam because of massive bailouts from the US government.
Another +1 for EV. Thanks for the heads-up.
@scottishdave: Yeah unlike most other car companies that operate at massive profit without any government subsidies.
LOL. just stick to your ICE car mate.
I too clicked the link. Now I understand the reason why people don't like you….it's not because when you speak english you're incomprehsible… it's because you post links to stupid videos
I had a 92' del sol slammed gears for years and years and going over 8k rpm every day, never had an issue engine or gearbox wise, can't beat older cars and how bullet proof they were especially older hondas.
How is that relevant to this post?
I thought it shouldn't be shaking. Isn't that why you replaced it?
methinks the transmission is about to have the MG3 around it replaced…
hmmm 2 RTX 5090s or this?
Well with one you can virtually ride a car, with another you can actually ride in a car.
Does make Grand Theft Auto play significantly differently depending which one you go for.
With one the graphics will be insanely amazing, the other u'll have to keep cleaning the windscreen.
With 2 x RTX 5090s you could vibe code a car
You wouldn't download a car…
unless its on thingiverse
What do you think BYD did with their infotainment system?
Or 3 iphone duo 2tbs
Why not both?
Send it to your mates who have a lead foot. 11 seconds of pedal to the floor to get to 100 is brutal.
Username checks out.
Im not sure what you want from the cheapest car for sale.
Pro tip: its not accelleration
Honestly the Premium is almost too much - 115kw motor means it has a really fast 0 to 60km which is what you usually do in the city.
Yet the hire/debt financed flex cars doing chap laps in your local city are designed to go much much faster but have never seen a race track
on the streets its fastest to 50km per hour
You're detached from reality. 11 seconds 0-100kmph is plenty for the purpose this car serves.
The Toyota Camry 20 years ago was about 10 sec 0-100 4cyl 2.4L engine and it cost $30k. (2243 hours of min wage in 2006). The $20k car is 756 hours of min wage in 2026.
Fantastic car I would say.
(2243 hours of min wage in 2006).
That's certainly an interesting metric for AU consumers,
ie. to calculate the minimum wage x hours.
Nice one.
Big Mac index
But not for big macs
Do cars, weeks rent, visit to the doctor, 1 course of antibiotics
Dollars over time don't show much because the currency debasement rate is so high. Not quite Project Zimbabwe yet but my personal inflation rate has been tracking 10-15% pa over the last few years.
Calculating the cost of things across time requires a better reference attached to real world work: min wage, ounces of gold, median wage, S&P500 units.
Do it for houses and it'll blow your mind.
currency debasement rate is so high
Capitalism depends on capital.
Capital is being 'faked'.
So, capitalism depends on something, which completely being 'faked'.
Do it for houses and it'll blow your mind.
Yes, I was discussing with a colleague, last year, when Gold prices were high, when he said he used to take x-kilograms of gold to buy a house in 1990 and that amount of gold had to play catch-up to the rate of house prices in Australia.
You almost had me? You never had me - you never had your car… Granny shiftin' not double clutchin' like you should. You're lucky that hundred shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake! You almost had me?
Overnight parts from Japan
Hector is going to be running three Honda Civics with spoon engines. And on top of that, he just came into Harry's and he ordered three T66 turbos, with NOS, and a Motec system exhaust.
@FrugalityMaximus: I'll see you in the desert next month. Be ready to have your ass handed to you.
Spirit. Thank you. Thank you for providing us with the direct-port nitrous… uh… injection, four-core intercoolers, an' ball-bearing turbos, and… um… titanium valve springs. Thank you
How many times do you expect to do a standing start to 100kph in a car like this? I can guarantee 99.999999% of driving these cars do will be in city traffic at roughly 20-50kph.
I'm nearly 40, I've been driving for 22 years, I've never done a 0-100 test on my car. Nor do I intend to. But OP must take his 1991 Camry to Eastern Creek every weekend.
its called cheap thrills of modern generation :)
I'd say it's not that rare, but it still happens. Sometimes the motorway ramp metering signals are on even though there's not much traffic so you do need to go from 0-100 to merge safely.
Lol merge safely. Nah I think I'll just slowly hit 70 and badge my way in regardless…
Basically the same as the Hilux, one of the best selling cars in Australia.
Yep Hilux is 10-12 seconds and no-one complains about it.
If it wasn't an EV there wouldnt even be a mention of the 0-100 time.
And most people I know never put their foot to the floor anyway so it's a moot point.
I had an EV that did 0 to 100 in 10 secs. I'd beat most other cars off the line because it was torquey and responsive. Heaps of ICE vehicles take off slower and are a lot more fuel efficient that way but again, quite slow.
What did I just read?
Anyway, I'm not really racing anyone in a car that does 0 to 100 in 10s.
@Caped Baldy: speaking of hardons… did I just trip over the subtlety of what a caped baldy could mean? safety first! ahem
175Nm of torque means it will be fine taking off at traffic lights…. Unless you can speak from experience.
BYD Australia announced the offer on 15 September 2026. It applies to the entry-level Atto 1 hatch and is available now.
If this is the case, why have you just linked to some article instead of to a direct source? For sure this is a great price, but hardly seems suitable to be posting as a deal. This is basically just an advertisement at this point.
Its on drive.com.au and a bunch of other sites as of 5mins ago.
I see the updated pricing when I select Essendon in VIC. The display price is the old price, however when I proceed to the selecting the car I see Driveaway Campaign Incentive
-$6,909.75
Oh funny it is. I didn't actually click into the checkout page.
Wouldn’t you rather know early?
Uber Eats, not Uber Rideshare. Zero room in the back.
Take out the back seats then.
This is Australia we invite our passengers to the front seat
The rear seats are actually quite roomy, although there are only 2 seats. The boot is tiny though.
As the Atto 1 doesn't come with a spare wheel, I'd like to add a full-size spare wheel (bought from the wreckers). Will it fit in the boot, and will there be any space left for anything else?
Just charge at home with 10a plug
time on the road is everything to uber drivers making a living, you would be charging all day to uber for a few hours. they need fast chargers.
poor chap…they haven't run power out to your place yet, so you're still using oil lights and a treadle washing machine?
Yep
Uber doesn't pay Lexus money, mate
It is the cheap people paying $7 for a 10km trip and expecting a premium car and a driver wearing a tie
Doesn't qualify as a Uber vehicle as it only has 4 seats.
Do these have pedal assist ?
Depends which model you get, some have a wind up rubber band.
Only if you have a passenger and the tandem model.
Hard part will be finding someone willing to get into this with you.
My MG3 from 2024 that just had its entire transmission replaced (under warranty) at only 47k should be (profanity) SHAKING