LOL, this is going to be a uniquely South African feature, to advertise the load shedding backup capability of an electric car.
Chinese automotive giant Build Your Dreams (BYD) is launching its compact electric crossover — the BYD Atto 3 — in South Africa.
It features a single front-wheel-drive electric motor that produces a peak output of 150kW and 310Nm torque, enabling acceleration from 0-100km/h in 7.3 seconds. DC fast charging can take the larger of the two batteries from 30% to 80% in around 29 minutes or 0–100% in roughly 80 minutes. The extended range version can drive up to 420km on a single charge, based on the WLTP standard.
Top Gear has given the Atto 3 a 7/10 rating, applauding its decent driving experience, equipment, and refined and spacious cabin.
V2L allows the Atto 3’s battery pack to supply standard 120/240V power to run several home or other appliances via an extension cord. All models sold in Australia can continuously supply up to 2.2kW of output, although testing has shown that this can reach as high as 3.2kW for short periods.
So, all in all a pretty good vehicle, but we’d have to wait and see what it costs. It will be at the cheaper end of the SA EV market, but the South African tax on imported EVs is still prohibitively higher than ICE vehicles. We can expect to pay a lot more than this vehicle sells for in Australia already.