An Electric Experience

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has opened an Experience Centre - the first of its kind in Australia - on Glen Osmond Road at Fullarton.

It offers customers the complete package of sales, collections, parts and service at one dedicated BYD site.

“It’s just a fantastic start-to-finish journey and facility for the customer,” said Luke Varnas, General Manager BYD South Australia.

That ‘experience’ includes educating and mentoring customers in every facet of owning an electric vehicle.

“At the moment, EVs make up nearly 8 per cent of the overall market, so there are still a lot of people who have never seen an electric car up close,” he said.

“They’ve never driven one and they have to work their way around how are they going to charge it, how they are going to use it.

“So we’re here to provide them with a really good experience around how the technology works and how to integrate that into their life. Then the customer has absolute control over how and when they want to make that decision (to purchase).”

#1 FAQ

How to charge their new BYD is one of the most common questions Luke is asked.

“A lot of owners think of their car like a mobile phone.

“As soon as you get home from work you plug it into the wall to charge it, and that’s exactly what you do with your electric vehicle.

“A trickle charger comes standard with the car and plugs into your standard power point at home.

“You can get 100km worth of driving by charging overnight.

“For people putting in significantly more kilometres than that, they have got access to putting in a home fast charger which allows them to charge their car significantly faster.”

Customers interested in a test drive are directed up the nearby South Eastern Freeway.

“It gives them a really good feel to see how responsive the car is up the hill and also shows how regenerative braking works, which recharges the car on the way back down.”

Fixed Price Peace of Mind

But one part of the car buying experience you won’t miss at BYD is bargaining over price.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a fleet or retail purchaser, everyone has access to the same fixed price,” Luke said.

“It takes the pressure off what people deem the challenging part of buying a car.”

Those prices begin at $39,020 on road for the BYD Dolphin hatchback, rising to $52,463 for the BYD Seal family-sized sedan.

But for Luke, the real beauty and value of driving an EV is what he doesn’t have to do on a weekly basis.

“Not having to go to the petrol station!

“I certainly don’t miss paying those fuel bills.”