BYD Atto 2

FIRST DRIVE Chinese brand's expansion continues, but will new compact SUV worry Skoda Elroq and Kia EV3?

- Ellis Hyde

AEX BYD was the fastest-growing car brand in the UK last year, although that's hardly surprising when you remember the Chinese giant only started selling cars here in 2023 and initially offered only the Atto 3 family SUV. Now, however, it has a diverse line-up of five electrified models, which will expand once again when the all-new, all-electric BYD Atto 2 compact SUV lands on our shores.

The timing couldn't be better or worse, depending on how you look at it - because a new wave of compact electric SUVS has just arrived, including the value-focused Citroen e-C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera siblings, the funky MINI Aceman and the excellent Skoda Elroq and Kia EV3. Needless to say, the Atto 2 has its work cut out.

UK pricing is still being finalised, but we do know that at launch just one trim level will be available: the Atto 2 Boost. Considering that this particular variant will cost 31,990 Euros in Europe, it's likely to start from under £30,000 on our side of the Channel. That would position the BYD between the Vauxhall/Citroen and the futuristic-looking Kia.

BYD is promising a generous standard kit list, particularly when it comes to tech, because it will include a 12.8-inch rotating touchscreen, an 8.8-inch digital instrument panel, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless charging pad, a panoramic glass roof, heated front seats and steering wheel, a 360-degree camera set-up and more than a dozen driver-assistance systems.

Euro-spec cars, like the one we drove, get a 45.1kWh battery and 194 miles of range. But in the UK, the Atto 2 Boost will come with a 50.1kWh battery that we expect to provide up to 210 miles.

Either way, the BYD easily beats the 186-mile range offered by the e-C3 Aircross and Frontera Electric.