2024 BYD Atto 3 scores major upgrade and price cut overseas... but when will the MG ZS EV, Hyundai Kona electric car rival come to Australia?

BYD has updated its Atto 3 small electric SUV in China and given it a significant price drop, too, as the brand aggressively takes on petrol rivals in its home country - but will we see the cut-price new version arrive here?

The 2024 update has seen China’s Atto 3 (known locally as the Yuan Plus) receive a ‘Black Knight’ styling scheme which includes black paint, new black alloy wheels and a refreshed interior that swaps the blue materials from the previous model for black and grey with green trim.

China’s Atto 3 has also been given a larger media screen with the 12.3-inch display from the previous model replaced with a 15.6-inch unit.

The new looks also come with a new price, but the strategy isn’t to beat other electric rivals, rather to steal sales from more affordable petrol models that wouldn’t necessarily be considered competitors.

A price cut of 12 per cent across the entire Chinese Atto 3 range now sees it compete with rivals such as the Volkswagen T-Cross.

China’s Atto 3 has also been given a larger media screen with the 12.3-inch display from the previous model replaced with a 15.6-inch unit.

In Australia the Atto 3 starts at a list price of $48,011 for the Standard range version and steps up to $51,011.

If the same 12 per cent price cut was applied that would mean a $5761 saving and a new entry price of $42,250.

CarsGuide has reached out to BYD in Australia to see if we’ll get the updated Atto 3 as well, but the company has yet to comment.

The 2024 update has seen China’s Atto 3 (known locally as the Yuan Plus) receive a ‘Black Knight’ styling scheme which includes black paint and new black alloy wheels.

The Atto 3 first arrived in Australia mid-way through 2022 and joined a growing number of Chinese electric SUVs priced so affordably that they undercut mainstream EV rivals by a considerable margin. 

The strategy appears to have worked with sales of the Atto 3 in 2023 reaching a total of 11,042. To put that in perspective Nissan sold 12,861 units of the well established Nissan X-Trail.