BYD responds after family who were among the earliest supporters have 'nightmare' experience while driving at 100km/h
Published on Aug 28, 2025 at 4:45 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Aug 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Chinese EV manufacturer BYD has responded to an Australian family after they claimed to have had a ‘nightmare’ experience while driving at 100km/h (62mph) in their BYD Atto 3.
BYD’s EVs have become more and more popular as time has gone on. They are slowly starting to become more widespread outside of China.
One Australian family, who were early adopters of the brand, say they had a nightmare after the battery in their electric car failed while they were on the move.
Naturally, that has led to speculation and an investigation by the company.
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What happened to the family and their BYD EV?
According to Ian Cool and his wife Cate, they had owned the car since November 2022.
The EV was their vehicle of choice after they found a Tesla awkward to drive due to the speedometer’s positioning.
Initially, the couple was very happy with their choice of BYD over Tesla.
However, on March 7th, 2024, their Atto 3 battery suddenly failed.
This occurred as Mrs Cool was driving the EV on the Tuggeranong Parkway at around 62mph.
Mrs Cool found she lost all acceleration, and had to slowly roll the car into a slip lane.
The saving grace was that it was around 10 am, and she had broken down outside of peak traffic hours.
The BYD Atto 3 had not run out of charge, and still had 51 percent at the time of the failure.
According to the family, this wasn’t the end of their nightmare experience.
What the manufacturer allegedly said about the incident
Cate Cool claimed the company insinuated ‘we didn’t charge the car,’ a suggestion she said was untrue.
But a few weeks later after an investigation into the incident, the company informed the family that the 60kWh battery had failed.
As it was under an eight-year warranty, the family was not charged for its replacement.
However, unhappy with how they were allegedly treated on the phone and in person, the couple asked for a refund on the car, declaring the BYD Atto 3 a ‘major failure’.
She claimed the company then got more standoffish with them.
After a bit of back and forth with the EV company, the Australian family agreed to the battery replacement.
Supercar Blondie contacted BYD for comment but the company did not respond before time of publication.
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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
