BYD offers full customer refunds after build-year error on Atto 3, Shark 6, Sealion 8

BYD Australia has offered full refunds to more than 1200 local customers who were sold vehicles – including the Atto 3, Sealion 8 and Shark 6 dual-cab ute – as 2026-build vehicles when they were in fact built in 2025.

A spokesperson from the automaker said it became aware of the issue when a customer contacted a dealer after cross-checking the build date while trying to insure their BYD.

"The dealer was contacted by the customer and we jumped on it," a BYD spokesperson told CarExpert.

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"What's happened is the date that's recorded in our CRM system – which is where the dealers get the information from – the date that was put in our system was the date the vehicle left the factory. It should have been the date of manufacture."

While the date of manufacture was correct in government systems, the incorrect data was manually entered into BYD's systems, meaning the issue was caused by human error.

The difference in build year could impact resale value when owners decide to sell their vehicle later on, as well as insurance and other costs.

"The initial response was $1100 [compensation], which was a preliminary response which we thought was fair and reasonable," the spokesperson said.

Nearly 900 of the 1265 affected owners have been contacted by BYD, with attempts continuing to reach all customers, while around 630 have accepted the offer of $1100.

Yet the automaker is now in the process of recontacting affected owners to offer them the option of a full refund – a move it says is the right thing to do despite there being no operational issue with the vehicles.

"On further examination, we thought the fairest thing to do was to offer a refund of the full transaction price and they will have the opportunity, if they wish, to purchase another vehicle," said the spokesperson.

"We want to make it as fair and faithful to the original transaction price. If they bought their car while there was a cashback offer – and that offer no longer exists – we will make good on that offer.

"This is about making sure the customer doesn't have to spend $1 more than their original transaction."

The issue comes as BYD enjoys record sales growth in Australia, having delivered just 243 fewer vehicles than market-leading Toyota in June.

Its best-selling model year-to-date has been the Sealion 7 electric SUV, followed by the recently expanded Shark 6 dual-cab ute range and Atto 2 small SUV.

The spokesperson told CarExpert the way the automaker has responded is important for a brand that launched in Australia relatively recently, with its first local customer cars landing in 2022.

"I would like to think that our level of transparency and our swiftness to respond and offer customers a full refund on a vehicle that has no defect is an honourable one, and is the right thing to do," said the spokesperson.

"We're owning it – this was not an act of deceit – this was not deceitful behaviour, this was an administrative error we were quick to jump on.

"At the end of the day, we're a relatively new brand in Australia and the only way we're going to build on our success is by being a trusted brand, and to do that we'll be making the right decisions for our customers."

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