BYD has lodged Australian type approval for the Atto 2 DM-i, confirming a plug-in hybrid version of the country’s cheapest electric SUV is on the way in two power outputs, 122kW and 156kW.
BYD has lodged formal Australian type approval for a plug-in hybrid version of its smallest SUV. The Approval lists model code SC3H under the marketing name Atto 2 DM-i. The filing confirms that the electric-only Atto 2, on sale here since November last year, is about to get a petrol-electric sibling.
The Road Vehicle Descriptor lodged with that approval lists two variants. Both run a 1.5 litre naturally aspirated four cylinder petrol engine paired with an electric drive motor. Both send power to the front wheels only. One variant carries a combined system output of 122kW. The other reaches 156kW. Neither number belongs to the petrol engine by itself. Overseas filings put that 1.5 litre unit at a modest 71kW, with the electric motor and battery doing the heavy lifting to close the gap.
Mass Tells the Battery Story
The RVD doesn’t list battery capacity, but the mass figures fill the gap. The 122kW variant has a tare mass of 1484kg. The 156kW variant carries 110kg more at 1594kg. Gross vehicle mass climbs from 2000kg to 2110kg across the same pair. That kind of jump only comes from one place on a DM-i platform: a bigger lithium iron phosphate pack under the floor.
BYD’s UK arm has sold this exact powertrain pairing since late last year and the numbers line up neatly. The entry grade there runs a 7.8kWh battery for a claimed 40km of WLTP electric-only range. The upper grade steps up to an 18.3kWh pack and roughly 89km of EV range, with combined range on a full charge and a full tank claimed at over 1000km either way. None of those figures are confirmed for Australian-spec cars yet. BYD has a track record of trimming battery capacity for this market compared with Europe, so treat the UK numbers as a guide rather than gospel until local specifications land.
Suspension and Tyres Split Too
The filing lists two different suspension configurations, one per power variant, which points to a genuine engineering response to that extra mass rather than a badge-and-software job. Both variants are approved on either a 215/65 R16 wheel and tyre package or a 215/60 R17 setup, the same wheel-size split BYD already runs between the Atto 2 EV’s Dynamic and Premium grades. Expect the smaller wheels on the entry car and 17s on the flagship, regardless of which engine ends up under which badge.
Braking uses an electro-mechanical iBooster setup, the same architecture BYD runs across its newer EVs and PHEVs locally. The transmission is listed simply as a single-ratio unit. That’s standard for DM-i: there’s no multi-speed gearbox in the conventional sense, just BYD’s hybrid system managing the handoff between engine and motor.
A Segment With No PHEV
Australia’s small SUV class is thick with hybrids and empty of plug-ins. The GWM Haval Jolion, Chery Tiggo 4 and MG ZS all offer petrol-electric hybrid drivetrains below $30,000 drive-away and none of them plug in. The closest thing this market has had to a small SUV PHEV, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV, has been discontinued. Genuine plug-in hybrid choice currently sits one segment up, in cars like the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid and BYD’s own Sealion 5.
That’s the gap the Atto 2 DM-i is built to fill. It would become the fifth PHEV in BYD’s Australian range, joining the Shark 6 ute, Sealion 5, Sealion 6 and Sealion 8, and the smallest by a clear margin. None of its likely small SUV rivals can match the plug, which turns this into less of a horsepower contest and more a direct pitch to buyers who want EV running costs around town without giving up a fuel cap for the school holidays drive.
Pricing Pressure
BYD’s own range sets the ceiling and the floor here. The electric Atto 2 opens at $31,990 plus on-road costs in Dynamic guise and $35,990 for Premium. The Sealion 5 DM-i, a noticeably bigger car, currently holds the title of Australia’s cheapest PHEV at $33,990 plus on-road costs. For the Atto 2 DM-i to justify its own spot in the range rather than just cannibalising Sealion 5 buyers, it needs to undercut that figure by a real margin, which points to a starting price closer to $30,000 than $33,000. That would hand the cheapest PHEV crown back to BYD, taken from its own larger sibling.
What Happens Next
Type approval doesn’t set a showroom date, but it does set a ceiling on how long the wait can run. BYD typically moves from RVD sign-off to local launch within a few months once compliance paperwork clears. Grade names, pricing and full local specifications will follow closer to that window, most likely landing on Essential and Premium badges to match the Sealion 5 DM-i.
Until BYD Australia confirms local specifications, the table below combines what’s locked in by the RVD filing with the closest available overseas equivalents, marked clearly as such.
Available Specs
| Spec | 122kW Variant | 156kW Variant |
|---|---|---|
| Price | TBC | TBC |
| Power/Torque | 122kW combined / TBC (UK equivalent: 300Nm) | 156kW combined / TBC (UK equivalent: 300Nm) |
| EV Range (WLTP) | TBC (UK equivalent: ~40km) | TBC (UK equivalent: ~89km) |
| Combined Range (WLTP) | TBC (overseas claim: 1000km+) | TBC (overseas claim: 1000km+) |
| Battery | TBC (UK equivalent: 7.8kWh LFP) | TBC (UK equivalent: 18.3kWh LFP) |
| Standard Inclusions | Air conditioning, ABS, power windows and mirrors, six airbags, central locking | As per 122kW variant, plus a revised suspension tune |
| Tare Mass | 1484kg | 1594kg |
| Gross Vehicle Mass | 2000kg | 2110kg |
| Towing (braked/unbraked) | 750kg / 750kg | 750kg / 750kg |
| Dimensions (L/W/H) | 4330mm / 1830mm / 1675mm | 4330mm / 1830mm / 1675mm |
| Wheelbase | 2620mm | 2620mm |
If the pricing lands where the maths suggests, the Atto 2 DM-i won’t just just be the first of it’s kind in the small SUV segment it will also be the first of it’s kind in that price point as well.
