BYD ups compensation to $3500 following build-date debacle

BYD Australia has more than tripled its initial compensation offer after it was found that over 1200 vehicles had been sold as 2026-build vehicles when they were actually built in 2025.

Affected buyers were initially given the option to take $1100 after it was found these vehicles – made up of the Atto 3, Sealion 8, and Shark 6 – had actually been made in 2025. The company also gave the option for owners to hand the cars back for a full refund, or exchange them for a brand-new equivalent.

CarExpert can exclusively reveal that approximately 3800 vehicles were incorrectly listed on BYD’s internal systems as 2026 builds, though only 1200 of those had been sold or allocated to customers.

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Following independent consultation, BYD Australia decided to increase compensation to $3500 to those who kept their cars – with the decision being retroactive and applying to those who already accepted the original offer.

BYD has confirmed 72 per cent of owners have chosen to take the compensation.

“As the situation evolved we conducted further analysis, comparing similar models in industry reputable valuation guides, where the data shows the implied reduction in value movement from one year to the next with vehicles of the same specification,” a spokesperson for BYD Australia told CarExpert.

“Those customers that were accepting of the $1100 payment are in the process of being recontacted and informed that the payment will now be $3500. This remedy will be convenient for most customers.

“Customers that do not wish to accept the payment have the option of either a full refund of the purchase price and associated costs, or a like-for-like vehicle replacement with a 2026-built vehicle.”

The automaker says it will also cover any costs incurred by the customer if they decide to hand their vehicle back or swap it for a 2026-built model.

With an estimated 2850 vehicles now being reclassified as being built in 2025, BYD was asked whether there was a concern the influx could accelerate depreciation.

“Any returned vehicles will be carefully managed through our dealers, many activated as company cars and service loan vehicles and the like,” the spokesperson said.

It’s understood the company is now manually sifting through data to ensure any affected customers aren’t ignored.

"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," the spokesperson told CarExpert earlier.

"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."

Though BYD would no doubt prefer that this never happened, it's not all bad news for the Chinese brand: with more than 350 owners choosing the option to receive a refund or a replacement vehicle, BYD will get to count new deliveries towards its monthly VFACTS sales reporting, with newly imported vehicles also adding to its credits under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).

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