Look what we have here – the BYD Atto 2 has been spotted in Thailand in right-hand-drive form, just months after it was confirmed for export markets such as the UK. The car was revealed in China in February 2024 as the Yuan Up, and just as its two names suggest, this electric B-segment SUV will slot below the Atto 3 (known as the Yuan Plus in China) in the carmaker’s lineup.
Images that appeared on the Car News Update Facebook page show the Atto 2 wearing very light camouflage, certainly not enough to hide the car’s sharp, upright design. Of more importance is the interior, where the steering wheel is now on the right side, albeit with the BYD badge still taped up (the Chinese-market car has the character Yuan).
The rest of the interior shot is very dark, but one can just about make out the 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen and 8.8-inch digital instrument display. However, the centre console appears to have been ripped up and the crystal gear selector “pebble” is nowhere to be seen here. Perhaps right-hook markets will get the column-mounted shift stalk already used by cars fitted with BYD’s God’s Eye autonomous driving system in China.
Globally, the Atto 2 is powered by a single front motor producing 177 PS (130 kW) and 290 Nm of torque, getting it from zero to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 160 km/h. A 45.12 kWh Blade lithium iron phosphate battery provides a range of just 312 km on the WLTP cycle, while DC fast charging capped at only 65 kW tops up the battery from 10 to 80% in 37 minutes. An 11 kW AC wallbox charger, meanwhile, provides a full charge in 5.5 hours.
The sighting of the Atto 2 in China raises the possibility of it being brought to Malaysia. It will, however, hit a snag in the form of tax exemptions coming to an end this year, meaning that even if it does get here this year, it will enjoy just a few months of being tax-free at most, before prices shoot up in 2026. The company has yet to make public any plans for local assembly, although its ties to Sime Motors here means that a CKD operation at the latter’s Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah can be tooled up in short order.
The Atto 2 was spied next to the Qin L EV, a new electric sedan that’s separate from the Qin L DM-i plug-in hybrid. That car, however, has yet to even go on sale in China, and this camouflaged prototype is a left-hand-drive unit; as such, even if it is earmarked for the Southeast Asian region, it will only probably arrive much later.
GALLERY: BYD Atto 2
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