A popular electric taxi found in cities such as London has now been made available to the Australian public for a bargain price – with a catch.
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A fleet of BYD E6 electric vehicles – once destined to be Sydney taxis – are now being offered to the general public for $35,000 plus on-road costs.
Built between 2019 and 2021, these E6s were imported into Australia from Chinese brand BYD, with the intention of being offered to taxi operators and hire-car businesses.
A number of vehicles remained unsold and unregistered, photographed at a holding yard at Sydney Airport. Two years on, a batch of identical E6s have gone on sale through Sydney company Eveen as the cheapest ‘new’ electric passenger car in the country.
While the BYD E6s are priced from $35,000 before on-road costs, financial incentives mean the models could end up costing buyers far less.
As many of the vehicles have yet to be registered, Eveen claims they are still eligible for the $3000 state government rebate in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia, while Western Australia provides a rebate of $3500.
It is unclear if these vehicles were imported to Australia by Nexport – the sister company to EVDirect, the main Australian importer for BYD passenger vehicles – or Eveen itself. It’s also unclear why the cars weren’t put into service as taxis, and how Eveen acquired them.
On Instagram, Eveen said its vehicles are not the cars previously photographed near Sydney Airport, telling a commenter “they are located within a storage facility in Sydney. They are all still wrapped in the brand new wrapping both internally and externally.”
Drive attempted to contact Eveen – as well as EVDirect – for comment before this story was published, however responses were not received in time.
Buyers of these 2019 to 2021 E6s through Eveen can choose any colour they like, as long as it’s green – with a white roof.
These BYD E6 vehicles use 80kWh battery packs to power a single electric motor, sending 90kW and 450Nm to the front wheels, delivering a claimed driving range of between 300 and 400 kilometres.
No details of a vehicle warranty have been published online by Eveen.
The E6 is roughly the same price as the 2021 BYD T3 two-seater commercial van when 50 examples were made available last year – through importer EVDirect – however, amid strong demand for zero-emission vehicles, used examples are listed on the classifieds for more than $45,000.
These vehicles are backed by their car maker’s head offices, with factory warranties and dealer networks.
Those interested in buying a BYD E6 can contact Eveen through the company’s Instagram page, found here.
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