BYD launches its first EV in Korea starting at just $21,500: can it rival Hyundai and Kia?
BYD officially launched its popular Atto 3 in South Korea this week, its first EV to hit the market. The electric SUV starts at just over $21,500 in Korea, but with subsidies, prices could fall to under $14,000. Can it compete with low-cost EVs from Hyundai and Kia? With several top-selling electric cars en route, BYD looks to win over buyers.
The world’s largest EV maker wants to increase its global market share even further this year. In 2024, BYD sold a record 1.76 million electric vehicles, just shy of Tesla’s 1.78 million deliveries.
With over 1.77 million models produced last year, BYD surpassed Tesla by about 4,500 units to become the leading global EV maker in 2024.
After dominating its home market, BYD is aggressively expanding into new markets. It’s already among the top-selling EV brands in parts of Southeast Asia and Central and South America. Now, it’s looking to compete with Hyundai and Kia on their home turf.
BYD Korea unveiled the Atto 3 for the first time during a media event on Thursday. The company opened preorders the same day, starting at around 31.5 million won ($21,600). To upgrade to the Atto 3 Plus, prices start at 33.3 million won ($22,900).
Cho In-Cheol, CEO of BYD Korea, said the EV could be bought for as little as around 20 million won ($13,700) with government subsidies.
BYD unveils its first EV in Korea, the Atto 3
“The Atto 3 is a proven global bestseller, and we are thrilled to bring it to South Korea,” Cho said during the event (via Yonhap).
BYD’s Korean leader pointed out the electric SUV’s spacious interior is due to its “best-in-class wheelbase.” With a wheelbase of 2,720 mm, the Atto 3 is about the size of the Kia EV3 (2,680 mm) and Hyundai Casper Electric (2,580 mm).
The EV3 and Casper Electric are Hyundai and Kia’s new mass-market EVs. Hyundai’s compact electric SUV starts at the same 31.5 million won ($21,600) as the Atto 3. With incentives, Hyundai said the Casper EV can be bought for as low as 10 million won, or around $7,000.
Because BYD’s electric SUV is powered by an LFP battery, it’s expected to receive less government support than domestic EVs from Hyundai and Kia.
Kia’s EV3 starts at 42.08 million won, or just under $30,000, and is already proving to be a “game changer” in its home market, according to the automaker.
Since launching globally in 2022, BYD has sold over one million Atto 3 electric SUVs in 72 countries. Later this year, the Chinese EV giant will expand its EV lineup in Korea, launching the Seal sedan and the new Sealion 7 midsize SUV.
After launching its first EV (also the Atto 3) in Japan in early 2023, BYD sold more electric cars than Toyota in its home market last year. Can BYD outsell Hyundai and Kia in Korea? Let us know in the comments below.
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Slate Auto, a new EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, has poached a key Tesla manufacturing leader to build its electric pickup truck factory in Indiana.
Napoleon Reyes is a US Marine from Indiana who got a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue after leaving the force.
He then worked a few years at Subaru and Wabash before joining Tesla’s manufacturing team at the Fremont Factory in 2020.
There, he became part of the Model Y production ramp and was quickly promoted to lead the Model Y General Assembly in Fremont in 2022.
Reyes led Model Y GA, one of the most critical parts of vehicle manufacturing, for more than a year before being promoted again to lead new pilot processes at the factory.
Most recently, he led the launch of the general assembly line for the Model Y refresh.
The new engineering manager announced this week that he is leaving Tesla to join Slate:
A bit late on the post but after nearly 5 years working at Tesla in Fremont, I made the difficult decision to leave the Company and move closer to home with my family. It was an incredible experience being part of multiple line expansions and multiple Model Y program launches. Leading and managing the Model Y Refresh launch for GA in Fremont this year tested me professionally however we ultimately succeeded due to our amazing cross functional team collaboration. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with such great people, and I will forever be proud and thankful for everything we accomplished together.
I will be taking on a new role as Senior Manager, Plant Vehicle Engineering at Slate Auto in Warsaw, In.
Slate emerged from stealth mode earlier this year to unveil a new type of electric pickup truck featuring modular customization and an affordable price.
The company raised over $700 million through two rounds of investments from several different investors, including Jeff Bezos. It is currently raising more, which basically guarantees that it will be able to reach production.
The startup acquired a former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana. It is currently converting to manufacture its electric pickup with a team from legacy automakers and also several former engineers and leaders from Tesla.
Rich Schmidt, an early Tesla manufacturing director, is the head of manufacturing.
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Genesis is preparing to shake things up with its most luxurious SUV yet, the GV90. Thanks to a new patent filing, we are getting a detailed look at how its Rolls-Royce-style coach doors will work.
New patent reveals Genesis GV90 coach door system
When Genesis first unveiled the full-size SUV at the NY Auto Show last March, it wasn’t the stunning design or advanced tech that caught everyone’s attention. It was the coach doors.
Although we were worried it wouldn’t make it to the production model, like many concepts, the Genesis GV90 will be offered with coach doors.
The ultra-luxe electric SUV was first caught with coach doors earlier this year on a car carrier in South Korea. Just last month, the GV90 was spotted in California with a hinge at the rear to open the coach doors.
After several new patents were filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for new door latching devices, we are getting a sneak peek at how they are expected to work.
The patents, titled “Cinching Device For Door Latches in Vehicle,” and “Door Latch Device for Vehicles,” give a pretty detailed explanation of how the Genesis GV90’s coach doors will operate. The “Door Latch Device” uses a door striker on the lower side of the door, which is opened or closed by a hinge unit.
Unlike traditional doors, which use the B-pillar for support, the device is attached directly to the door itself, allowing for hinge-like movement.
The cinching device works in a similar way. It’s also attached to the door and part of the vehicle. However, unlike most of its kind, Genesis found a way to use a single cinching device to control multiple units. Again, the device is used for B-pillarless doors that swing open.
Genesis already said that B-pillarless coach doors are now feasible in production vehicles. The patent reveals a glimpse into how the luxury automaker could make it a reality.
Although the Genesis GV90 is expected to be offered with coach doors, they will likely not be standard. Other variants, with traditional door handles, have also been spotted testing in the US and South Korea.
Genesis is expected to launch the GV90 in mid-2026. It will be built at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant in South Korea. The flagship Genesis SUV is scheduled to debut on Hyundai’s new eM platform, which the company said will “provide 50% improvement in driving range.” It will also be loaded with the latest technology, software, connectivity, and Level 3 or higher autonomous driving capabilities.
Source: USPTO
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Environment
Podcast: Tesla Model YL, more Tesla probes and lawsuits, new Nissan Leaf pricing, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the launch of the Tesla Model YL, more Tesla probes and lawsuits, new Nissan Leaf pricing, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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