2026 BYD M9 Priced for Australia: Seven-Seat Plug-In Hybrid People Mover From $72,990, Eight-Seat Dynamic to Follow

Image credit: BYD Australia. BYD notes some overseas imagery may be used.

BYD's people mover is here, and it has a price. The M9 Premium, a seven-seat plug-in hybrid with power sliding doors, heated and ventilated seats in the first two rows and a fridge between the front seats, is listed on BYD Australia's online configurator at $72,990. On-road costs go on top, worked out from your postcode, and BYD is taking orders now with a $1,000 order fee and an estimated delivery of October 2026.

A cheaper eight-seat M9 Dynamic is on the way. BYD Australia's model page says only that it is "coming soon", and it has not published a price or a full specification for it. Several Australian outlets have reported the Dynamic at $61,990 before on-road costs. We have not been able to confirm that on a BYD page, so treat it as reported until BYD puts it on the configurator.

Everyone will frame this as BYD taking on the Kia Carnival, and on price that is exactly what it does. But the more useful questions for a family are what you get for the money, what it costs to run if you plug it in and if you do not, and whether it can actually carry seven people and their gear. The answers are mostly good. One of them is not.

Pricing

One powertrain, two seating layouts. Only one of them has a price you can order at today.

There are two paid options on the Premium in BYD's configurator: Dark Aquamarine paint at $1,500 and a Brown and Beige interior at $500. Aurora White and Cosmos Black are no-cost colours and black trim is standard. So the most the configurator lets you spend before on-roads and accessories is $74,990. BYD's configurator also lists one year of complimentary roadside assistance.

BYD Australia quotes a six-year or 150,000km vehicle warranty and an eight-year or 160,000km warranty on the traction battery, whichever comes first in each case, with terms and exclusions applying.

What $72,990 Gets You

This is where the M9 makes its case. BYD Australia's specification sheet for the Premium lists as standard:

• Power sliding rear doors and a power tailgate with height setting
• Genuine leather seats, with the driver's seat 8-way power adjustable, plus massage and memory
• Heated and ventilated front seats, and heated, ventilated and massaging second-row seats with power adjustment and leg rests
• A third row with power adjustment and one-touch power folding, split 60/40
• A 15.6-inch touchscreen up front, a 15.6-inch fold-down ceiling screen for the back, and a 12.3-inch digital driver's display
• An in-car refrigerator, a 12-speaker sound system, three-zone automatic air-conditioning and air vents for the second and third rows
• A power sunroof and a panoramic sunroof with electric sunshade
• Wireless Apple CarPlay, wired and wireless Android Auto, and a 50W wireless phone charger
• A 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, front and rear cross traffic alert, door open warning and child presence detection
• Front and rear parking sensors, and a tyre repair kit (the sheet lists no spare wheel)

The airbag list includes front, front-side and front-centre airbags, side airbags for the outboard second-row seats, and full-length curtain airbags covering all three rows. There are ISOFIX anchors for three child seats and top tethers for three.

The seating layout matters more than it sounds. The Premium is a 2+2+3: two captain's chairs in the middle row, and a three-seat bench in the back. That gives you a walkway to the third row, which anyone who has climbed over a folded middle seat with a toddler will appreciate. It also means seven seats, not eight. If you need the eighth seat, you are waiting for the Dynamic.

The Powertrain, and What It Means for Running Costs

The M9 uses BYD's DM-i plug-in hybrid system: a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine paired with a front electric motor, which BYD says gives electric-only driving for short trips and hybrid driving for longer ones. BYD quotes 218kW and 315Nm combined, with the front motor alone making 200kW and 315Nm. It is front-wheel drive only and runs on 91 RON regular unleaded.

For a family that charges at home, 145km of claimed electric range could cover a lot of school runs and short commutes without starting the engine. BYD rates the battery at 5.21 hours from 0 to 100% on 7kW AC charging. As a rough guide only, at an assumed 30 cents per kilowatt-hour a full charge costs about $11; your tariff, and any off-peak or solar rate, will move that a lot.

Now the other side. The headline 0.4L/100km is a WLTP figure measured with a charged battery. With the battery depleted, BYD's own sheet says 7.3L/100km. That is the number that matters on a long holiday drive, or for a buyer who does not plan to plug in. We list the Carnival Hybrid at 5.8L/100km, though that figure was measured on a different test cycle, so it is not a like-for-like comparison. The takeaway is simple: the M9 makes financial sense if you charge it. If you will not, a conventional hybrid may use less fuel.

Note that a portable Mode 2 charging cable is marked as an optional extra on BYD's specification sheet, not standard. Factor that, or a wallbox, into the budget.

The Number to Read Twice: Payload

BYD Australia quotes a kerb weight of 2,650kg and a gross vehicle mass of 3,274kg, giving a payload of 624kg. Payload is everything you put in the car: people, luggage, the dog, and the download on the towbar if you tow.

Do the arithmetic for the car's actual job. Seven adults averaging 75kg is 525kg, which leaves under 100kg for everything else. Two adults and five kids leaves a lot more, but a family road trip with a full boot and a roof pod can close that gap faster than you would think. None of this makes the M9 unusual among its rivals: Kia Australia's figures give the Carnival Hybrid a 2,980kg gross mass against a 2,334kg maximum kerb weight, about 646kg, and Hyundai Australia quotes 612kg for the Staria Hybrid. But it is the one figure on the sheet that could genuinely change a purchase decision, and it will not appear in the brochure headlines.

Towing is 1,500kg braked and 750kg unbraked. BYD notes that towing capacity is subject to state regulations and towbar design. That covers a box trailer, a jet ski or a small camper trailer, not a family caravan. Kia Australia quotes 1,000kg braked for the Carnival Hybrid, and Hyundai Australia's specification sheet rates the Staria Hybrid at 0kg, so among these three hybrid people movers the M9 has the highest tow rating. If you are planning to tow, run your actual trailer weight, towball download and passenger load through our TowingSorted planner before you order, because payload may run out before the tow rating does.

Size and Space

The M9 is 5,145mm long, 1,970mm wide and rides on a 3,045mm wheelbase, with a 5.7m turning radius. Boot space is 470 litres with all seats up, according to BYD's specification sheet, which also quotes 2,036 litres with the second-row seats folded. BYD's model page quotes a slightly different maximum of 2,063 litres, and lists the height as 1,850mm where the specification sheet says 1,805mm. If a garage door height matters to you, ask a dealer to measure one.

BYD also points to 32 separate storage compartments around the cabin and a deep sub-floor slot in the boot. Ground clearance is 160mm unladen and 140mm laden, so treat steep driveways and gravel roads with care.

How It Stacks Up

The M9 is not on sale yet in our directory, so it is not in the comparison below. What is in it are the Carnival Hybrid grades and a seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV you can buy today at similar money. Pick any two.

Against the Kia Carnival Hybrid

We list the Carnival Hybrid, from Kia Australia's price feed, at $56,310 for the S HEV, $68,540 for the Sport+ HEV and $76,840 for the GT-Line HEV, all before on-road costs. The M9 Premium sits $4,450 above the Sport+ and $3,850 below the GT-Line. All three Carnival Hybrids seat eight; the M9 Premium seats seven. On safety, ANCAP rated the seven-seat M9 five stars in September 2026 under its 2026-2028 criteria. The Carnival's ANCAP rating dates from 2021, under older criteria, so the two are not scored on the same test.

What the M9 brings is the plug: 145km of claimed electric driving against a conventional hybrid that cannot be charged. It also brings 218kW combined against the 180kW combined output Kia Australia quotes for the Carnival Hybrid, second-row massage seats, a fridge and a roof-mounted screen. What the Carnival brings is an eighth seat, a longer track record in Australia, and lower fuel use on the numbers we hold when the M9's battery is flat.

Against the Hyundai Staria Lounge Hybrid

This one is almost a straight price match. We list the Staria Lounge Hybrid at $73,740 before on-roads, from Hyundai Australia's price calculator, which puts the M9 $750 cheaper. The Staria is the bigger, more van-like box. But Hyundai Australia's specification sheet rates the Staria Hybrid for 0kg of towing, braked or unbraked (the diesel and V6 Starias tow 2,500kg), against the M9's 1,500kg. The M9 also brings the plug-in battery and more power. If you need to tow and want a hybrid, the M9 is the only one of the two that can. If your week is mostly short trips and you can charge at home, the M9 is the more interesting car.

Against BYD's own Sealion 8

The awkward comparison is in BYD's own showroom. BYD Australia's configurator lists the seven-seat Sealion 8 Premium AWD at $70,990, which is $2,000 less than the M9. BYD's Sealion 8 specification sheet gives the Premium all-wheel drive, 359kW and a 2,000kg braked towing capacity, against the M9's front-wheel drive, 218kW and 1,500kg. BYD quotes 152km of electric range for the Sealion 8, but on the older NEDC cycle, so it cannot be set against the M9's 145km WLTP figure. So for $2,000 more you give up performance, traction and towing, and what you get back is the people-mover body: sliding doors, a walkway to the third row, captain's chairs and a far more usable back row. For a family whose kids are in the third row every day, that trade is worth making. For anyone who mostly carries five, the Sealion 8 is better value.

The other plug-in hybrid people mover

Among the people movers listed as on sale in our directory, the only other plug-in hybrid is the GAC M8, in PHEV Premium and PHEV Luxury grades. We list the M8 Premium with 274kW and 106km of electric range, against the M9's 218kW and 145km. We have not yet checked the M8's price against GAC's own site, so compare the two on specification and confirm pricing with a dealer.

Tax: What Applies and What Does Not

Luxury car tax. For the 2026-27 financial year, the luxury car tax threshold is $80,809 for most vehicles and $91,661 for fuel-efficient vehicles. At $72,990, or $74,990 with both paid options, the M9 Premium is under both, so there is no luxury car tax at list price. Thresholds are re-indexed every 1 July.

Fringe benefits tax. BYD's configurator offers a novated lease option, and its incentives panel mentions the fringe benefits tax exemption for zero-emissions vehicles. That exemption does not help here. Plug-in hybrids stopped qualifying for it for cars first held on or after 1 April 2025, so a new M9 on a novated lease is taxed like a petrol car. Salary packaging can still make sense for some buyers, but not because of the electric car exemption. This is general information, not tax advice; check your own position with your lease provider.

What BYD Has Not Told Us Yet

• The Dynamic. No Australian price, specification or date on BYD's site. It will have eight seats and, according to BYD's model page, uses 2.7L/100km at a high state of charge. That is all BYD has published.
• A drive-away price. BYD's configurator calculates one from your postcode, but BYD has not published a national figure.
• Service pricing and intervals for the M9.

Who It Suits, and Who It Does Not

It suits a family with young kids that can charge at home, does most of its driving around town, and uses all three rows most days. For that buyer, the M9 offers a lot of electric running, a very well equipped cabin and the practicality of sliding doors for a price between the middle and top Carnival Hybrid grades.

It does not suit a buyer who needs eight seats now, tows anything heavier than 1,500kg, regularly carries seven adults with luggage, or will not plug in. For eight seats today, look at the Carnival. For heavier towing, the hybrid rivals do not help, but the non-hybrid versions do: Kia rates the diesel and V6 petrol Carnival at 2,000kg braked, and Hyundai rates the diesel and V6 petrol Staria at 2,500kg. And the Jaecoo J8 SHS Summit is a seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV worth a look.

We will add the M9 Premium, and the Dynamic once BYD publishes it, to the CarSorted directory with full specifications. In the meantime you can check current BYD offers on our deals page.