The material and finish are better than expected, and everything from the options to the body strength is quite good, so I was surprised. I think I will buy the SUV model that will be released soon.
It’s not particularly good or bad, but it’s true that there is some psychological resistance. If I had to decide now, I would still choose a domestic car.
On the 14th, at the showroom of the Chinese electric vehicle company BYD in Seocho, customers' reactions to BYD’s "ATTO3" were mixed. Some customers were surprised by its better-than-expected performance, while others expressed doubts about trusting a Chinese product.
Mr. Lee (59), who owns two foreign cars, said, "I am looking for an electric vehicle for commuting," adding, "The demand for luxury cars is being captured by foreign brands, and Hyundai Motor and Kia will face significant threats in terms of price-to-performance compared to BYD."
Another Mr. Lee (24) who is considering his first car with a budget of around 20 million won said, "I came to see how affordable and how well-made Chinese electric cars are, and I was surprised that the quality of assembly and materials is not bad at all," but he added, "It’s true that I don’t have confidence in Chinese products, so if I had to decide today, I would buy a domestic electric car."
BYD held a brand launch ceremony on the 16th of last month and officially entered the Korean market. BYD has established 15 showrooms nationwide, including four in Seoul, as well as in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, Daegu, and Daejeon. An employee met at the Seocho showroom said, "Just two to three weeks ago, around 40 to 50 teams visited per day, and we had to increase the number of test drive vehicles from one to two," adding, "Recently, about 10 teams visit each day."
As news broke that BYD will partner with the Chinese artificial intelligence corporation DeepSeek, voices of concern regarding information leaks have emerged domestically. BYD has not clearly stated what information it collects, only mentioning that the personal information collected is stored on the cloud servers of the Chinese IT corporation Tencent.
Mr. Kim (36), who signed a contract for a German electric vehicle that day, said, "I believe (BYD electric vehicles) will perform as well as Xiaomi or Huawei," but he added, "I feel uneasy about the collection of personal information."
The price of the ATTO3 ranges from 31.9 million to 32.9 million won, and it can travel 321 kilometers on a full charge. The automotive industry expects the subsidies for the ATTO3 to be around 2 million won. The number of pre-orders for the ATTO3 has exceeded 2,000.
A sales staff member who previously worked at another foreign car brand said, "It's not common to have 2,000 pre-orders in just one month," noting that "currently, about 10 to 15 percent of consulting customers are making pre-orders, but it seems that all of the waiting demand has been contracted and only cautious customers remain."
Professor Kim Pil-soo from Daelim University’s Automotive Engineering Department said, "The ATTO3 is a model whose quality has been proven in the global market and it has been priced the lowest possible to capture the Korean market through cutthroat competition," adding that "prior to the entry of another Chinese company, domestic companies need to work on releasing competitive mid- to low-priced models." He also expressed concerns about personal information leaks, stating, "If the servers are located in China, all the information will be transferred. That is a concerning issue."