BYD’s new flagship SUV has some truly insane statistics.
This is the BYD Atto 8, which the Chinese brand has unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. It’s a seven-seat electric SUV that rivals the Kia EV9, Skoda Peaq, Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Peugeot E-5008.
On paper, the BYD has its rivals well and truly beaten for charging, range and performance – the Atto 8 is the first BYD in Europe to get the company’s extremely fast ‘flash’ charging that promises a 60% recharge in just five minutes.
BYD Atto 8 range and charging
Two versions of the Atto 8 are available: one with rear-wheel drive and one with four-wheel drive. Both use a massive 115kWh battery, which promises up to 405 miles in the rear-driven version and 374 miles in the all-wheel-drive one.
But it’s the charging that’s most impressive. Even with the huge battery, BYD’s Flash Charging tech provides a 10-70% top-up in five minutes. A 10-97% charge takes just nine minutes. BYD reckons that, even in -30 degrees, it’ll still take just 12 minutes for a 20-97% recharge.
The Flash Charging system fills up a battery at a rate of up to 1,500kW, which is absolutely monstrous. For context, the fastest chargers you’ll currently find in the UK are 400kW. On this point, BYD says it’ll install 3,000 Flash chargers across Europe by the end of 2027.
Performance
The rear-driven ‘Design’ model has a 462hp electric motor, which should be more than enough to provide sports car pace. It’s curious that this much power only enables a 0-62mph time of eight seconds – it seems like the power is being wasted.
If you do want sports car performance in your seven-seat family bus, the all-wheel-drive ‘Excellence’ model hits 62mph in 4.6 seconds, thanks to a gargantuan 775hp.
However, the Kia EV9 GT matches that 0-62mph time with 510hp – what is the BYD doing with that extra 265hp?
Interior
Befitting a flagship product, the Atto 8 is brimming with tech and standard features. There’s a 15.6-inch touchscreen, a digital driver’s display and a 26-inch head-up display (because who needs to see at complicated junctions…?), and the infotainment system includes Google Maps, the Google Play app store and a Google voice assistant.
Four of the seven seats are heated, cooled and massaging, and every seat is upholstered in genuine leather. Upgrade to the Excellence, and you’ll enjoy a 21-speaker DiSound audio system… and a refrigerator in the front that can maintain a set temperature between -6 and +50 degrees.
Dimensions and boot space
| BYD Atto 8 dimensions | |
| Length | 5,040mm |
| Height | 1,760mm |
| Width | 1,996mm |
| Boot space (7 seats up/ 2 seats up) | 270/1,960 litres |
| Frunk | 136 litres |
Being over five metres long, the BYD Atto 8 should be spacious enough for adults to be comfortable in the third row of seats. We’ll have to see for ourselves, though, because the Kia EV9 is fractionally shorter than the Atto 8 but offers more luggage capacity – which suggests that the seats are more spacious in the Kia if the space is larger when they’re folded.
Price and release date
You’ll be able to buy the Atto 8 in the first few months of 2027. Prices haven’t been announced yet, but the Atto 8 will cost more than the Sealion 7 – which starts at £47,000 and tops out at £59,000. We’d expect a starting price of around £55,000 for the Design trim and £65,000 for the four-wheel-drive Excellence model.
Buy a brilliant BYD and bag a bargain
Check out our used BYD cars for sale, all with thousands off the list price and warranty cover included. Or, find which model is best for you in our BYD SUV and car range guide.
