If you’ve been dying to give an EV a go, especially one of the best cheap long-range models, then an opportunity has presented itself. International vehicle rental company SIXT has announced that 500 BYDs will join the company fleet over the next 12 months.
SIXT says in its official announcement that the BYD Atto 3 SUV is expected to be the first vehicle in the BYD range to join the SIXT fleet. Considering that this is the only BYD currently available in Australia officially through the Chinese automaker (using EV Direct as the Australian market distributor), we’d assume that this is pretty likely too.
That being said, BYD is planning on introducing a handful of other cars in the Australian market, with a hatchback and sedan planned for 2023, followed by a ute and a smaller SUV.
This news follows an agreement signed between SIXT and BYD late last year, that would see the rental company adopt 100,000 vehicles internationally. In Australia, rental BYDs will exclusively be available through SIXT.
SIXT is expecting that the BYD Atto 3 will become available as a rental in mid-2023, as an EV experience “at an affordable price point” (again, according to the announcement post).
“The BYDs we will have in our fleet will make choosing an EV even more attractive for customers and corporates looking to save on fuel costs and minimise their footprint,” SIXT Australia CEO Matthew Beattie said.
“The BYD Atto 3 is an exclusive offering with SIXT for anyone looking to rent one in Australia. They offer an uncompromising EV experience with a 400km manufacturer advertised charge range.”
Additionally, the offering includes complimentary charging when using a Chargefox or NRMA charger. You can find your nearest one, or ones you’d be passing, quite easily on the Plugshare map.
“Customers who hire any EV from SIXT can take advantage of complimentary charging with NRMA’s EV fast-charging network and the National Chargefox network throughout their hire period,” Beattie added.
Rental costs have not been announced by SIXT at the time of writing, but Gizmodo Australia has reached out to ask about pricing.
SIXT’s fleet of electric vehicles also includes the Tesla Model 3, the Hyundai Kona EV, MG ZS EV, the BMW IX3 and the Hyundai Ioniq EV, all of which are stationed at airports across Australia. You can book a rental from the SIXT website.
Last year, the BYD Atto 3 almost took the crown as our favourite EV, although it was beaten out by the Tesla Model 3-rivalling Polestar 2.
We loved the value on offer with the BYD Atto 3, with the most impressive price-to-range package on offer at the time (specifically the extended range model, which offers 420km WLTP for $47,381 MSRP), however, we weren’t too particularly fussed on its operating system, its omission of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and its wheel size.
That being said, for the price, it’s the best value EV to get at the moment if range is your biggest concern.
If you want to shop around, here’s what other electric vehicles are available.