BYD sell 80 cars in a day as fuel prices surge in New Zealand

BYD New Zealand say they have seen a ‘major upswing’ in demand after reportedly selling one new car every six minutes over a single day last weekend.

As fuel prices surged past $3 per litre in New Zealand, more Kiwis are looking at electric vehicles to combat the cost of commuting. BYD says it noticed this first-hand, selling 80 new vehicles on Saturday – equivalent to one vehicle every six minutes during dealership trading hours.

BYD New Zealand general manager Warren Willmot attributes the surge to two main factors: the company’s expanding model lineup and rapidly rising fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.

“Kiwis are clearly voting with their wallets,” said Willmot. “Higher petrol prices are pushing people to reconsider the cost of driving, and BYD’s five new models – Atto 1, Atto 2, Sealion 5, Sealion 8, and the cab chassis Shark – are giving customers more choice, more value, and more reasons to go electric.”

BYD says it has increased the size of its next shipment, due to arrive in June, to meet the increase in demand, and has allocated all stock currently in-country and arriving this month to local dealers. While there’s stock on the ground ready for immediate delivery, some colours and configurations have already sold out for the next one or two months.

“We expected strong interest, but this level of demand has exceeded even our most optimistic forecasts,” said Willmot.

BYD previously announced it plans to introduce 15 new models this year, including an updated Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute with a larger 2.0-litre engine and a 3.5-tonne towing capacity, the Seal 6 plug-in hybrid station wagon, and the Atto 2 Super Hybrid.

The sales success comes just as BYD was awarded the 2026 Consumer Choice Award for Car Ownership. The award is the result of customer research conducted every two years measuring satisfaction, trust, product reliability, and performance.