Key Takeaways
- BYD Australia takes 6% off the base list price for novated lease buyers: from $1,439.40 (Atto 1 Essential) to $3,839.40 (Sealion 7 Performance)
- Eligible: Atto 1, Atto 2, Atto 3, Dolphin and Sealion 7, with nine grades shown on BYD's offers page
- Order between 1 October and 21 December 2026, delivered by 31 January 2027, through an approved fleet management organisation
- It is a price discount, not a finance rate, and it doesn't stack with the $4,000 cashback on the Sealion 7
- Every eligible grade sits under the $91,661 fuel-efficient LCT threshold, so the price test for the EV fringe benefits tax exemption is met under current law
BYD Sealion 7. Image credit: BYD Australia
If you were already planning to put a small or mid-size BYD through a novated lease, there's a discount on the table that a cash buyer can't get. Since 1 October, BYD Australia has been taking 6% off the base list price of the Atto 1, Atto 2, Atto 3, Dolphin and Sealion 7 for novated lease clients, on orders placed by 21 December 2026.
A percentage sounds tidy, but what it's worth depends on the car, on how a novated lease treats GST, and on whether you'd be better off taking a different BYD offer instead. So we've worked it through grade by grade, using BYD's own list prices.
What BYD's Terms Actually Say
This is the wording printed on BYD Australia's offers page, under "6% Novated Lease Discount":
- "A 6% Novated Lease discount applies to eligible ATTO 1, ATTO 2, ATTO 3, DOLPHIN and SEALION 7 vehicles."
- "The discount is applied to the base vehicle list price and excludes registration, CTP, stamp duty, dealer delivery and statutory charges. Metallic paint is available at an additional cost."
- "To qualify, vehicles must be ordered between 1 October 2026 and 21 December 2026 and delivered by 31 January 2027."
- "The offer is available to eligible Novated Lease clients only and must be processed through an approved Fleet Management Organisation (FMO)."
- Excluded: "Fleet customers", "Demonstrator or Service Loan vehicles" and "Transactions involving additional promotional offers or discounts".
Two things stand out. First, this is a straight discount off the car's price, not a special finance rate. Your interest rate is whatever your novated provider charges. Second, the delivery window is a month longer than BYD's other current deals, which want the car delivered by 31 December. That extra month matters if the grade or colour you want isn't in stock.
BYD ran a similar offer in September at 5% (orders 1 to 30 September, delivery by 31 October). It covered the Atto 1, Atto 2, Dolphin, Seal and Sealion 7. The current version is a point richer, adds the Atto 3 and drops the Seal sedan.
What 6% Comes To, Grade by Grade
| Grade (electric) | List price | 6% off | After discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atto 1 Essential | $23,990 | $1,439.40 | $22,550.60 |
| Atto 1 Premium | $27,990 | $1,679.40 | $26,310.60 |
| Dolphin Essential | $29,990 | $1,799.40 | $28,190.60 |
| Atto 2 Dynamic | $31,990 | $1,919.40 | $30,070.60 |
| Atto 2 Premium | $35,990 | $2,159.40 | $33,830.60 |
| Dolphin Premium | $36,990 | $2,219.40 | $34,770.60 |
| Atto 3 Essential | $39,990 | $2,399.40 | $37,590.60 |
| Sealion 7 Premium | $54,990 | $3,299.40 | $51,690.60 |
| Sealion 7 Performance | $63,990 | $3,839.40 | $60,150.60 |
Compare these picks side by side
6 of them on 200+ specs, price, safety and running cost in one view.
Each price is that car's stored figure with its basis and check date.
Current price on CarSorted: BYD Atto 1 Essential $23,990 RRP, as at 16 Sep 2026; BYD Atto 1 Premium $27,990 RRP, as at 4 Oct 2026; BYD Dolphin Essential $29,990 RRP, as at 4 Oct 2026; BYD Atto 2 Dynamic $31,990 RRP, as at 4 Oct 2026.
List prices from BYD Australia's Build & Price configurator, read 12 November 2026. They include GST and exclude on-road costs. The grades listed are the nine shown with the 6% offer on BYD's offers page. Metallic paint, registration, CTP, stamp duty and dealer delivery are not discounted.
On the cheaper cars it's a useful saving rather than a large one. On the Sealion 7, it gets into real money.
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What the Discount Is Worth Inside a Novated Lease
Here's the catch. On a novated lease, the GST on the car is normally claimed back as an input tax credit rather than financed, so the amount you actually finance is the GST-exclusive price. That means 6% off a GST-inclusive list price shrinks your financed amount by 6% of the GST-exclusive figure. On a Sealion 7 Premium, the $3,299.40 headline becomes about $2,999 less borrowed.
A smaller financed amount helps twice. Your monthly repayments drop, and so does the residual, the lump sum owed at the end of the lease, because the ATO's minimum residual is a percentage of the financed amount. For a five-year lease that minimum is 28.13%.
| Five-year novated lease | Dolphin Essential | Atto 2 Dynamic | Sealion 7 Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount financed (ex-GST), no discount | $27,263.64 | $29,081.82 | $49,990.91 |
| Amount financed (ex-GST), with 6% off | $25,627.82 | $27,336.91 | $46,991.45 |
| Monthly finance repayment, no discount | $448.43 | $478.34 | $822.25 |
| Monthly finance repayment, with 6% off | $421.53 | $449.64 | $772.91 |
| Lower pre-tax deduction per month | $26.91 | $28.70 | $49.33 |
| Extra take-home pay per month at a 32% marginal rate | $18.30 | $19.52 | $33.55 |
| Smaller residual at the end (incl. GST) | $506.17 | $539.93 | $928.12 |
Current price on CarSorted: BYD Sealion 7 Premium $54,990 RRP, as at 14 Oct 2026; BYD Sealion 7 Performance $63,990 RRP, as at 4 Oct 2026; BYD Dolphin Essential $29,990 RRP, as at 4 Oct 2026; BYD Dolphin Premium $36,990 RRP, as at 4 Oct 2026.
Our estimates, not quotes. Assumptions: five-year term, 8.0% p.a. finance rate, the ATO minimum five-year residual of 28.13% of the GST-exclusive amount financed, GST paid on the residual, the lease provider claiming the GST on the car, and a 32% marginal tax rate (the 30% bracket plus the 2% Medicare levy, roughly a $100,000 salary). On-road costs, running costs, insurance and provider fees are left out because the discount doesn't touch them. Your provider's rate and fees will change the numbers.
Add it up on the Sealion 7 Premium and you're looking at about $2,960 less in pre-tax deductions over five years, about $2,013 after tax at that marginal rate, plus $928 less to pay at the end. That's worth having, but it's a bit less than the headline $3,299 suggests, and it's spread across five years rather than landing in your account.
BYD Dolphin. Image credit: BYD Australia
The FBT Exemption Still Does the Heavy Lifting
The 6% is the sweetener. The main reason these cars suit a novated lease is fringe benefits tax. Under the ATO's electric cars exemption, a battery-electric car first held and used on or after 1 July 2022 is exempt from FBT if its value at first retail sale is below the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient cars. For 2026-27 that threshold is $91,661. The most expensive car in this offer, the Sealion 7 Performance, lists at $63,990, so every eligible grade clears it with room to spare.
In practice, that lets the whole lease, including budgeted running costs such as charging, tyres, servicing, registration and insurance, come out of your pre-tax salary with no FBT to cover. Two caveats. The exempt benefit still appears on your income statement as a reportable fringe benefit, which can affect things like the Medicare levy surcharge, family payments and child support. And plug-in hybrids lost the exemption for cars first held from 1 April 2025, which matters here because BYD also sells an Atto 2 DM-i plug-in hybrid. It isn't one of the grades shown with this offer, and on a new lease it wouldn't get the FBT exemption anyway.
The 2026-27 Budget proposes replacing the full exemption with a 25% FBT discount for electric cars valued over $75,000 from 1 April 2027, and for all eligible electric cars from 1 April 2029. This is a proposal, not law (ATO, updated 14 May 2026). None of these BYDs is anywhere near $75,000. For the detail, see our guide to FBT-exempt cars.
FBT and luxury car tax figures current as of 12 November 2026
Thresholds, rebates and rules on this page change each financial year. We check them against the ATO, but always confirm the current position with the relevant authority before you sign.
Does It Stack With the $4,000 Cashback?
No. We covered BYD's $4,000 cashback campaign when it started on 1 October, and it runs to the same 21 December order date. Both sets of terms exclude "transactions involving additional promotional offers or discounts", so you get one or the other.
The only model in both campaigns is the Sealion 7. On paper the cashback is bigger: $4,000 against $3,299.40 on the Premium and $3,839.40 on the Performance. But the two deals are aimed at different buyers. The cashback terms exclude fleet customers and say nothing either way about novated leases, while the 6% is for novated lease clients only. If you're leasing a Sealion 7, ask your fleet management organisation in writing which offer it can apply to your order before you sign anything. Also note the cashback wants delivery by 31 December 2026, while the 6% gives you until 31 January 2027.
Two cheaper grades have their own drive-away deals for retail buyers. The Atto 1 Essential is $19,990 drive-away and the Dolphin Essential is $28,888 drive-away, both for orders by 15 December and delivery by 31 December. The Atto 1 Essential's $19,990 drive-away is below its 6%-off list price of $22,550.60 before on-road costs are even added. The Dolphin Essential's $28,888 drive-away is $697.40 above its 6%-off list price of $28,190.60, but it includes on-road costs and the list price doesn't. They are retail offers, and BYD's novated discount can't be combined with them. If you're paying cash or using ordinary finance, the drive-away prices come out ahead on those two grades once on-road costs are counted. On a novated lease, check which offer your provider can actually use.
BYD's 0.99% comparison-rate finance offer doesn't touch these cars either. It covers the Seal 6, Sealion 5, Sealion 6, Sealion 8 and Shark 6.
Which Grades Are and Aren't Shown
BYD's terms name the five models without listing grades. Its offers page shows the 6% offer against nine specific grades: Atto 1 Essential and Premium, Atto 2 Dynamic and Premium, Atto 3 Essential, Dolphin Essential and Premium, and Sealion 7 Premium and Performance. Three gaps are worth knowing about:
- Atto 3 EVO. BYD lists the Atto 3 EVO Dynamic at $41,990 and the EVO Premium at $46,990, but only the Atto 3 Essential ($39,990), the entry grade of BYD's Atto 3 EVO range, carries the offer tile. If you want an EVO, get eligibility confirmed in writing.
- Seal. The sedan was in September's 5% offer but isn't named this time.
- Atto 2 DM-i. The plug-in hybrid version isn't shown with the offer, and it wouldn't get the FBT exemption on a new lease.
BYD Atto 2. Image credit: BYD Australia
Cars in this story
7 cars
Price shown is each car's stored figure with its basis and check date.
See all BYD modelsHow It Compares
A natural rival for the Sealion 7 Premium on a novated lease is the Tesla Model Y RWD. Our directory lists the Model Y at $58,900 before on-road costs with 466km of WLTP range. With 6% off, the Sealion 7 Premium comes to $51,690.60 before on-roads, $7,209.40 less, with 482km WLTP in our directory. You can line them up in our compare tool.
At the small end, the Dolphin Essential after the discount is $28,190.60 before on-roads, against the GAC Aion UT Premium at $31,990 before on-roads in our directory. The Aion quotes 430km WLTP to the Dolphin Essential's 340km, so the BYD is cheaper but goes less far on a charge. Within BYD's own range, the Atto 2 Dynamic quotes 345km WLTP from a 51.3kWh battery, which is the step up if you want an SUV body for not much more. Our Dolphin vs Atto 2 comparison covers the trade-off.
Warranty
Our directory lists the same cover for all nine grades: six years or 150,000km on the car, and eight years or 160,000km on the battery. The discount doesn't change any of that. Safety ratings vary by model, so check each car's page for its ANCAP status.
What This Means for Buyers
If you're already set on a novated lease for one of these five models, the 6% is a straightforward saving, as long as your provider is an approved fleet management organisation and the car is ordered by 21 December. Ask your provider to show the discount as its own line on the quote, so you can see it coming off the vehicle price rather than disappearing into a fee.
If you're still choosing how to pay, run the numbers both ways. On an Atto 1 Essential or Dolphin Essential, the retail drive-away deals beat a 6%-off list price once on-road costs are added. On a Sealion 7, the $4,000 cashback is bigger in dollars than the 6%, but a novated lease brings the FBT exemption and pre-tax repayments, which is usually worth far more than either discount for someone on a $100,000 salary. Our lease calculator lets you test your own salary and term, and the novated lease guide explains the residual and running-cost budget.
Our Take
This is BYD leaning into salary packagers, the buyers the FBT exemption already favours. The offer is clearly written, the delivery window is generous and the discount is meaningful on the Sealion 7. The fine print, though, makes you choose between BYD deals rather than add them up. Read it as one option among three, and pick the one that saves you more for how you're actually paying.
Compare what's on sale now
Head-to-heads with the cars this story is about and their closest rivals on sale now, plus the buying guides that cover them.
- BYD Atto 1 vs BYD Dolphin
- BYD Sealion 7 vs Tesla Model Y
- BYD Sealion 7 vs Kia EV5
- BYD Atto 3 vs Hyundai Kona Electric
- BYD Atto 3 vs Geely EX5
- BYD Sealion 7 vs Geely EX5
- BYD Atto 2 vs GWM ORA 5
- BYD Atto 3 vs Jaecoo J5
Buying guides
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- Best SUVs Under $50K in Australia (2026)
Or pick any two cars on our compare page, or browse the full car directory.
Shopping for a BYD now?
The facts, side by side. Your decision.
Disclaimer: Offer terms are from BYD Australia's offers page and list prices from BYD's Build & Price configurator, both read on 12 November 2026. Offers can change or end early. The novated lease figures are our estimates using the assumptions printed under the table. They are not quotes or financial advice. Tax figures are current law as at 12 November 2026. Confirm eligibility, pricing and tax treatment with your employer, your novated lease provider and the ATO before you sign.
