Toyota RAV4 who? BYD importer slams Australia’s best-selling SUV

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Toyota RAV4 who? BYD importer slams Australia’s best-selling SUV

BYD’s local distributor isn’t mincing words about the competitiveness of its

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mid-sized SUV, and has gone after the segment’s best seller.

“The thing is it’s a fantastic car. I’m happy to go on record: it’s a far better car than a

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,” the founder and executive chairman of BYD’s *********** distributor EVDirect, Luke Todd, told CarExpert.

“The RAV4 is a regurgitation of 15-, 10-year-old technology, just with a new wrapper.

“BYD Sealion 6 technology is advanced technology, now.

“We’re very happy to be compared. What I encourage people that are looking to buy, looking at a Toyota RAV4, [is to] go and test drive the Sealion 6, test drive the RAV4, and make your own decision.”

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Camera IconSealion 6 Premium Credit: CarExpert

With the introduction of a new entry-level Essential grade earlier this month, the Sealion 6 range now opens at $42,990 before on-road costs.

That gets you a 160kW/300Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain with a claimed 92km of electric-only range on the NEDC cycle and fuel economy of 1.1L/100km.

The Essential’s price tag is just a few hundred dollars off that of the entry-level Toyota RAV4 GX Hybrid, which costs $42,260 before on-roads.

That gets you a 160kW 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain with claimed combined fuel consumption of 4.7L/100km.

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Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert

However, while the RAV4 can run on pure electric power at low speeds, it can’t be driven purely in electric mode across greater distances.

Since 2022, BYD has only produced plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs). Toyota, in contrast, still doesn’t offer any PHEVs here – including the PHEV version of the RAV4 offered in numerous overseas markets – and offers just one EV.

The ******** carmaker was a pioneer in PHEV technology, but initially arrived here only with EVs.

It took until 2024 for BYD to launch its first PHEV here: the Sealion 6. This was followed by the

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ute, local deliveries of which commenced in January.

Mr Todd says PHEVs play an important role in BYD’s lineup.

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Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert

“Utopia is somebody that has the ability to charge with solar, free fuel, full EV – that’s utopia. But the reality is, for many Australians, that’s not achievable,” he said.

Despite only being launched mid-year, the Sealion 6 only narrowly missed out on being BYD’s best-selling model in Australia in 2024.

BYD delivered 6198 examples, just shy of the 6393 units recorded for the electric

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sedan.

The ******** brand is launching a similarly sized but fully electric SUV in February, called the

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