Tag Archives: BYD

News

Britain’s Dealer Happiness Index: Who’s Winning, Who’s Losing, and Who Should Be Worried

If you really want the truth about a car brand, don’t ask the marketing department. Don’t ask the influencers. And definitely don’t ask the guy in the pub who once drove a diesel Passat “that pulled like a train.”

Ask the people who live and die by the product: the franchised dealers.

This year, Britain’s retail networks have spoken—loudly, candidly, and sometimes with a tone that suggests they’d rather be anywhere else. Their collective verdict paints a surprisingly dramatic picture of who’s thriving, who’s stumbling, and who might need to start thinking about pulling the eject handle.

The Big Winners: Lexus Leads, Kia Surges, BYD Impresses

According to the dealer rankings, Lexus, Kia, BYD, Omoda, Suzuki, and BMW top the leaderboard in that exact order. It’s a group that blends dependable luxury (Lexus), relentlessly consistent value (Kia), and China’s fast-moving electric juggernaut (BYD) with newer disruptors like Omoda.

These are the brands whose dealers sleep easier at night. They like the product. They like the margins. They like the customers walking through the door. And, crucially, they like the support they get from HQ.

The Basement Dwellers: DS Hits Rock Bottom

At the sharp end of misery, the worst-performing brands are Alfa Romeo, Fiat, SEAT, Abarth, Citroën, and at the absolute bottom—DS.

Dealer grumbling here covers everything from profit margins to warranties to product perception. The French premium experiment seems to be running out of goodwill. One could imagine Stellantis executives staring at these results and wondering how much longer DS can cling to the UK market.

Margin Madness: Kia, Mercedes, and Toyota Score; Land Rover Stumbles

Profit margins are the lifeblood of a dealer’s survival. According to the survey:

  • Best new-vehicle margins: Kia, Mercedes, Toyota
  • Worst: Audi, Ford, and dead-last Land Rover

Yes, you read that right—Audi dealers, purveyors of high-priced premium metal, say their profits are among the weakest in the country. That’s like a Michelin-star chef complaining the kitchen ran out of salt.

Something’s not adding up behind the four rings.

Product Value: Omoda and Dacia Thrill, Audi and DS Deflate

“Value” is often code for “Customers leave happy and we don’t have to beg them to buy.” Dealers claim:

  • Most satisfied with product value: Omoda, Kia, Dacia
  • Least satisfied: DS, SEAT, Audi

Again, Audi finds itself on the wrong side of dealer sentiment. The brand moves high volumes and commands premium prices, yet retailers insist the value proposition isn’t landing. Whether that’s pricing, equipment, or perceived quality, the frontline feedback is unambiguous.

EV Satisfaction: BYD, Kia, Renault Shine; Nissan Tanks

This may be the most startling result of all.

  • Strongest approval for EV lineup: BYD, Kia, Renault
  • Weakest: SEAT, Nissan, Mazda

Nissan’s inclusion here is perplexing. This is the brand that practically invented the mainstream EV with the Leaf, pioneered affordable electrification, and is gearing up for a new British-built Leaf and Juke. And yet its retailers sound more apprehensive than enthusiastic.

BYD, meanwhile, earns praise not only for its EVs but also for the frequency of its new model introductions. In dealer-speak, that’s code for “We always have something fresh to sell.”

Support Matters: Lexus Dominates, Citroën Falters

Dealers say Lexus is unbeatable in tech support and parts availability—a reputation the brand has quietly cultivated for decades.
At the other end, Citroën sits last, a position no network wants to see next to its name.

Group Patterns: VW Group Chaos, Stellantis Struggles

There’s a pattern emerging that’s difficult to ignore:

  • VW and Skoda: Doing well
  • Audi, Cupra, SEAT: Lagging badly

This internal inconsistency mirrors the chaos of the wider Stellantis empire, where:

  • Jeep, Peugeot, Vauxhall dealers: Generally content
  • Fiat, Citroën, DS, Abarth: Deeply unhappy

For DS and Abarth in particular, the writing on the wall is getting hard to miss. The UK market may simply not be buying the dream.

So What Does This Mean for Buyers?

Behind every score is a signal: how easy a brand is to own, how well-supported its cars are, and how stable the buying experience will be over time.

If you want predictable satisfaction and a well-oiled dealership experience, Lexus, Kia, and BYD look like the safest bets.

If you prefer to avoid frustration, shrinking dealer faith, or slow support networks… well, the bottom of the list makes its own argument.

The dealers have spoken. Now it’s your move.

Source: Auto Express

NEW CARS

2026 BYD Atto 2 DM-i — The PHEV That Might Finally Make Sense

BYD’s first crack at the all-electric Atto 2 left us mildly underwhelmed, a reminder that not every EV out of China is a category killer. But give the same package a battery, a petrol engine, and a smarter mission, and suddenly things get a lot more interesting. The new Atto 2 DM-i plug-in hybrid lands next spring with a clear objective: replace the internal-combustion car entirely for urban users who aren’t sold on full EV life just yet.

And unlike the slightly limp Active trim, the longer-range Boost model makes a seriously compelling case — especially if BYD hits its predicted starting price of £28,000, which would make it the cheapest plug-in hybrid in the UK.

Powertrain: A Clever Split Personality

Underneath its sensible sheetmetal lies the same playbook used in BYD’s larger models: a 1.5-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder paired with a dual-motor hybrid system. One motor generates electricity, the other drives the front wheels, which is why BYD calls this setup DM-i (Dual Mode–intelligent).

The brain of the system is the company’s trademark 18.3-kWh Blade battery, good for a claimed 55 miles of electric range — more than a BMW X3 plug-in hybrid, for those keeping score.

The Boost trim tested here delivers:

  • 209 hp
  • 0–62 mph in 7.5 seconds
  • 110 mph top speed
  • 300 Nm from the electric motor alone

The entry-level Active makes do with a smaller battery (25-mile EV range) and 164 hp, stretching the sprint to 9.1 seconds.

On the Road: Electric First, Engine Second

In typical DM-i fashion, the Atto 2 feels for all the world like an EV that occasionally borrows an engine. The electric motor does most of the heavy lifting, and during two hours of mixed driving we rarely woke the petrol engine unless deliberately provoking it.

Throttle dip into the carpet? The 1.5 petrol fires up — eventually — and when it does, it’s neither musical nor especially eager. But most owners may hardly notice; the electric torque pulls strongly well beyond motorway speeds, and real-world range estimates seemed to track closely with the car’s predictions. That alone puts it ahead of many legacy-brand plug-ins.

Regeneration comes in two flavors — Standard and High — but both feel timid compared with European or Korean rivals. BYD still doesn’t offer true one-pedal driving here.

Ride and Handling: Comfortable Enough, But…

Refinement largely mirrors the EV version: excellent electric hush, but noticeable wind and road noise at speed. Ride quality is where things unravel. Because of the battery packaging and energy-recovery hardware, the Atto 2 DM-i runs a torsion-beam rear axle — and it shows.

Despite riding on modest 17-inch wheels with generous sidewalls, the DM-i:

  • Fidgets at higher speeds
  • Thuds into potholes around town
  • Never quite settles over broken surfaces

The all-electric Atto 2, with its multi-link setup, has a smoother stride. Handling is predictable but sluggish; vague steering and modest grip discourage any enthusiastic cornering. This is an appliance, not a backroad toy.

Interior & Tech: Sensible, Spacious, and Mostly Well Executed

BYD has toned down the quirkiness here — no Atto 3-style guitar-string door pockets. Instead, the cabin is clean, upright, and dominated by a fixed 12.8-inch touchscreen (no party-trick rotation this time) and an 8.8-inch driver’s display.

Highlights:

  • Infotainment is quick, intuitive, and smartphone-like
  • Swipe-down quick menu is genuinely useful
  • Build quality is better than expected for the segment

Lowlights:

  • No physical climate buttons, despite customers begging for them
  • Odd mix of materials: soft-touch up front, scratchy plastics in the rear
  • Slightly fake-looking moulded stitching

Space is a win. Two six-footers will happily sit in the back, and the 425-litre boot beats the electric version by 25 litres — though the seats don’t fold completely flat.

Features & Trims: Value Is the Real Story

Active (approx. £25,000)

  • Rear-view camera
  • Parking sensors
  • Rain-sensing wipers
  • Adaptive cruise
  • LED headlights
  • Metallic paint

Boost (approx. £28,000)

  • 360° camera
  • Heated seats + heated steering wheel
  • Tinted glass
  • Panoramic roof
  • Wireless phone charging
  • Vehicle-to-Load capability (run tools, appliances, camping gear off the battery)

If these prices hold, BYD will undercut the Chery Tiggo 7 PHEV by thousands, and nothing else in the UK market comes close on range-for-money.

A Hit — With Caveats

The BYD Atto 2 DM-i Boost isn’t perfect. The ride is unsettled, steering is vague, and refinement still trails the class leaders. But judged as a mass-market, long-range, ultra-affordable PHEV, BYD is onto something huge.

For buyers not yet ready to make the leap to a full EV, the Atto 2 DM-i hits a sweet spot: mostly electric commuting, petrol-powered freedom, and a price that could force every major rival back to the drawing board.

Right now, in this still-quiet corner of the market, BYD has the field to itself — and the Atto 2 DM-i Boost is the one to get.

Source: BYD

News

BYD’s Party Trick Is Over: Rotating Screens Axed as Brand Prioritizes App Integration

For years, BYD’s rotating touchscreen felt like the perfect metaphor for the brand’s rise in Europe: quirky, confident, and not afraid to poke at the Tesla-inspired minimalism dominating the EV landscape. Spin the screen 90 degrees and—voilà—you had either tablet-like portrait real estate for maps or a widescreen display for entertainment and menus. It was a gimmick, sure, but a good one. And it helped BYD stand out.

Now it’s gone.

The Chinese automaker has confirmed it’s retiring the feature entirely as it doubles down on integrating third-party apps and universal software platforms across its lineup. The upcoming Atto 2 crossover is the first model to break with tradition, its 12.4-inch display fixed permanently in landscape mode. The rest of the range will follow.

From Headline Feature to Footnote

When BYD first hit European shores, the rotating screen was standard fare—even on budget entries like the £18,000 Dolphin Surf hatchback. It gave BYD’s cabins some character, especially compared to the spartan, screen-forward interiors of many EV competitors.

The brand’s pitch was simple:

  • Portrait mode for better navigation visibility ahead
  • Landscape mode for broader UI access while parked

And buyers liked the idea—at least in theory.

In practice? Not so much.

According to vice president Stella Li, customer enthusiasm didn’t translate into day-to-day use. “People love the rotating screens, but the usage is very small,” she told Autocar. More importantly, the feature was starting to clash with BYD’s new digital direction.

CarPlay Killed the Spin Star

Li confirmed that the tech roadmap for BYD now leans heavily on partnerships with giants like Google and Apple, and on expanding native support for the apps customers actually use. The Atto 2 will be the first BYD to offer both Apple CarPlay and Google compatibility straight out of the box.

And those platforms, Li suggests, put limits on BYD’s interior theatrics.

“If they want to give the best experience, then a rotating screen will limit their apps’ smoothness,” she said. A moving display complicates UI scaling, touch targets, and screen responsiveness—particularly in apps never designed for a spinning piece of hardware.

A New Era: Autonomous Driving First, Quirks Second

With BYD’s global ambitions widening, the company says it needs a more universal, predictable interface. That matters even more as it invests further in autonomous driving systems, where screen layout consistency is crucial for safety and compatibility.

“We want to make our platforms become more universal in order to fulfill the best experience,” Li said, adding that some partners—like Google—are “a little bit behind” on certain automotive integrations.

In other words: the cockpit needs to be ready for outside software, not built around BYD’s own showpieces.

What This Means for BYD

Losing the rotating screen won’t change the fundamentals of any BYD model, but it does symbolize the brand’s maturation. The early waves of European expansion leaned on clever touches and personality; the next phase appears to be about global tech alignment, autonomy, and platform stability.

It’s the difference between a brand trying to stand out—and one trying to scale.

And while the rotating display will be missed by fans of fun interior tech, BYD seems convinced the tradeoff is worth it.

After all, the best trick in a modern EV might not be a spinning screen at all—but a system that simply plays nice with the apps you already use.

Source: Autocar