China's BYD Auto rolls out ATTO 3 electric SUV in India; bookings open

Warren Buffet-backed  BYD Auto Company ("Build Your Dreams") on October 11, launched ATTO 3 electric Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in the Indian market. The e-SUV by the Chinese electric vehiclemaker will be pitted against MG ZS EV, Tata Nexon EV Max, Mahindra XUV400, and Hyundai Kona EV.

ATTO 3 will come to India via SKD (semi-knocked down) route and will be assembled at the company’s existing facility in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai. While the company said it will officially announce the prices next month, ATTO 3 is estimated to be priced around Rs 30 lakh (ex-showroom).

"The Electric Passenger vehicle (PV)market stood at 22,000 units per annum during last financial year. This fiscal, it has already crossed 25,000 units during April-September period and we hope the total numbers to cross the 50,000 unit-mark. Nearly 95% of the total e-cars sold in the country last FY from the SUV segment and that trend continues this year as well, "Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, Senior VP of Electric Passenger Vehicle Business, BYD India.

After launching the e6 MPV (for fleet operators) last year, this is the second electric offering from the Chinese carmaker in India. BYD has started taking the bookings for a token amount of Rs 50,000 and commence deliveries from January next year. However, it is not clear if many customers would want to book the car without knowing its price.

"We hope to sell 15,000 units of ATTO 3 during next calendar year. As the market expands and we enhance our product portfolio, we hope to attain a 40% marketshare of the e-PV market by 2030," added Gopalakrishnan. He also clarified that BYD has no plans to export its products in the foreseeable future.

The ATTO 3 is powered by a 60.48kWh BYD Blade battery pack that offers a claimed range of 521 km on a single charge (as per ARAI). The electric motor generates a peak power of 201bhp and 310Nm of torque. The new BYD electric SUV is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 kmph in 7.3 seconds, as per the company's claims.

The BYD ATTO 3 comes equipped with a 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system (compatible with both both Apple Carplay and Android Auto), a panoramic sunroof, LED lighting system, a digital instrument cluster and heated seats among other features.

The e-SUV comes packed with some of the safety features such as electronic stability program (ESP), a one-touch electric opening/closing tailgate and an ADAS suite, hill decent control, 7 airbags, traction control system, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), a 360-degree parking camera, rear parking sensors, anti-lock braking system with electronic brake-force distribution and Traction Control System (TCS), seat belt reminder system, and a speed alert system, among others.

BYD India Private Ltd had earlier announced that it is will ramp up the distribution network and expand production capacity in the process. It currently has 24 showrooms across 21 cities in the country and aims to expand to at least 53 showrooms by the end of 2023.

BYD India may also consider establishing a manufacturing facility, that will have an in-house production line for batteries, subject to market demand.

''Our current assembling capacity is around 10,000 units  per annum which could be expanded to 15,000 units per annum. Looking at the market demand, we will look at exploring setting up of manufacturing facilities in the country and that may involve a dedicated facility for building our batteries,'' Gopalakrishnan further added.

BYD has two assembly plants in India covering more than 140,000 sqm with 3,000 employees and a cumulative investment of over $200 million in the country till date.

BYD India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway funded Chinese company BYD Auto. With presence in over 70 countries, the company is now looking to gain a strategic foothold in the booming e-PV market. Apart from the automotive business, the Shenzhen-based company has a presence across mobile components, battery energy storage, electric forklifts, among others.