BYD Atto 3 running costs and reliability

2023 onwards (change model)

Running costs rating: 4 out of 54.0

BYD Atto 3 composite image with 'build your dreams' in the sky

BYD Atto 3 in Whitby near hotels and the sea

BYD Atto 3 long term at Dartmouth Castle

The inexpensive Evec WEVC01 charger and an example of the companion app

BYD Atto 3 red, UK review, rear light detail

A wallbox home EV charger by Evec and an example screen of the app on iPhone

Driver's view of the BYD Atto 3 dashboard with Spotify running in a portrait-mode screen

Written by Alan Taylor-Jones Published: 18 January 2024 Updated: 18 January 2024

Miles per pound (mpp) ⓘ

Low figures relate to the least economical version; high to the most economical. Based on WLTP combined fuel economy for versions of this car made since September 2017 only, and typical current fuel or electricity costs.

Electric motors, home charging	11.8 mpp
Electric motors, public charging	6.3 mpp

What is miles per pound?

Fuel economy ⓘ

Low figures relate to the least economical version; high to the most economical. Based on WLTP combined fuel economy for versions of this car made since September 2017 only.

Electric motors	4 miles/kWh

View mpg & specs for any version

Big battery models get 300-mile+ range
Smallest battery still does a reasonable 200-miles
50 quattro model gets reduced range

What are the running costs?

Obviously, as all Atto 3 models are fully electric, you don’t have to worry about tailpipe emissions (and if you hook up to a solar charger at home, and it won’t get much cleaner than that) so as long as you’ve got the space and ability to charge at home, and you’re on a decently affordable electricity tariff, then the Atto 3 could be very cheap to run.

In fact, according to Parkers’ own calculations, you can put as many as seven miles under the Atto 3’s wheels for each Pound you spend, depending on the model you choose.

View detailed MPG and CO2 figures on the BYD Atto 3 specs pages

Range and charging

Charge times lag behind the best in the segment. The Atto 3 can accept DC rapid charging speeds of up to 88kW, which allows its battery to take on a 30–80% charge in 29 minutes.

That’s reasonable, but the Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq is compatible with up to 125kW DC rapid chargers and can charge from 10–80% in the same half-hour period. Spend a little more and you can have a Tesla Model Y that’ll charge far faster than both, and has full access to the excellent Supercharger network.

An efficient heat pump comes as standard and thermal efficiency is improved by as much as 20% in cold weather to reduce the strain on the battery. All Atto 3s come with a vehicle-to-load facility that allows you to charge other devices using the car’s battery pack.

Servicing and maintenance

For an all-new (to the UK) brand, we were expecting something spectacular here to kickstart BYD, but that’s simply not happened – instead, you get rather middling warranty support. All models come with a four-year/70,000 warranty for the car and eight-year warranties for the battery and motor – left behind by MG, Kia, Toyota and SsangYong’s EV offerings.

If something fails within the warranty period, and the replacement part’s warranty is shorter than the remaining basic coverage period, the warranty period of the part shall be extended until the remaining warranty period.

The dealer network is currently small, but BYD has partnered a number of groups, and promises to grow the number of showrooms rapidly.