As BYD officially enters the South Korean passenger car market on the 16th, the vehicle anticipated to make its domestic debut is the compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) "Atto 3."
"Atto 3" is expected to receive environmental certification before "Seal," "Dolphin," and "Sealion 7," and may be released next month. The certification is anticipated to take place before the BYD Korea brand launch event on the 16th.
According to industry sources on the 12th, the National Institute of Environmental Research under the Ministry of Environment is expected to grant emission and noise certification for "Atto 3" as early as the 13th. The emission and noise certification according to the Air Quality Preservation Act involves confirming the maximum driving distance per charge for electric vehicles.
Having passed the environmental certification, "Atto 3" has completed all domestic certification procedures for electric vehicle launch, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's energy efficiency certification and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's specification notification. "Atto 3" is the only BYD vehicle that has completed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's specification notification.
"Atto 3" will be eligible for launch once it undergoes the environmentally friendly vehicle reporting by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the supply evaluation by the Korea Environment Corporation (process for confirming electric vehicle subsidies). Considering that this process takes up to about a month, there is a high likelihood that "Atto 3" will be released next month.
"Atto 3" is a compact electric SUV equipped with an "8-in-1" electric powertrain that integrates the body and battery, and has been recognized for a maximum driving distance of 420km on a single charge according to the WLTP (Europe) standards. However, it is reported that the domestic certified driving distance is limited to the 330km range.
Domestic launch price is expected to be in the mid-30 million won range. However, since it is equipped with low-recycling rate lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, it is likely to receive fewer subsidies than domestic vehicles according to this year's Ministry of Environment electric vehicle subsidy regulations.