Stockpiled BYD cars declared illegal as council rejects application

More than 1000 BYD vehicles stored at a family recreation park south of Sydney will have to be relocated after an application to keep them there was rejected.

First reported by news.com.au, the trucking in of an estimated 1600 new BYD cars, including the Chinese brand’s best-selling Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) dual-cab ute and Sealion 7 electric SUV, prompted complaints from nearby residents.

The vehicles were parked at Jamberoo Action Park near Kiama on the New South Wales south coast, which remains closed until summer, allegedly without the necessary permission for vehicle storage on such an industrial scale.

While nobody has taken accountability for them, BYD Australia has suggested it does not own the Jamberoo cars and says its logistics contractor is responsible for them. 

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“In New South Wales, BYD’s vehicle storage is managed by a storage and logistics partner, who oversee a number of locations in the Port Kembla and surrounding regions,” the company said. 

It’s believed they are owned by Eagers Automotive Limited – although this is not confirmed – which has a partnership with BYD including for logistics and, it seems, storage of vehicles.

CarExpert has contacted Eagers, Australia’s largest automotive retailer, for comment but is yet to receive a response. 

Kiama Municipal Council issued Jamberoo Action Park an order to comply with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (EP&A Act). 

A subsequent development application (DA) was submitted to the council, but after being open to public consultation the DA was rejected by the council. 

“Council is working with the owners of Jamberoo Action Park towards resolving this issue and ensuring the site is only operated for authorised uses,” said Kiama Municipal Council in a statement.

The council pointed out that Jamberoo Action Park is located on Jamberoo Road, which is a council-managed road.

“Council broadly supports the use of electric vehicles, with the installation of EV charging stations at The Pavilion, and other initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, as outlined in our Corporate Emissions Reduction Plan.” 

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