A BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid that was plugged in twice in two months emitted nearly three times as much CO2 per kilometre as an identical Shark 6 that was charged 59 times, according to data from BYD New Zealand’s press fleet.
The figures come from a fleet emissions dashboard, part of BYD Connected Car Data, that BYD Auto NZ has spent more than a year building with connected vehicle data company Compass IoT. Compass IoT also worked with BYD on its connected car trial for digital road user charges. BYD is offering the dashboard free to its New Zealand fleet customers.
It uses each vehicle’s own trip computer readings for electricity and petrol use, weighted by distance driven, and converts them to emissions using the Ministry for the Environment’s factors for petrol and grid electricity.
The Shark 6 that was charged 59 times covered 82% of its 3002km on the battery, used 2.3 litres of petrol per 100km and emitted 71g CO2e/km. The one charged twice covered 27% of its 726km on the battery, used 8.4L/100km and emitted 205g CO2e/km.
“Switching to BYD already cuts a fleet’s emissions. With BYD Connected Car Data, fleets can now see how each vehicle is actually being used. That lets them spot habits like plug-in hybrids that rarely get charged, and work with drivers to change them. As our own press fleet shows, that one change can cut fuel use and emissions by around two-thirds on the same vehicle,” says BYD New Zealand general manager Warren Willmot.
Across 21 vehicles and 41,409km over 65 days, from August 15 to October 18, the fleet used 4703kWh of electricity, or 11.4kWh/100km, and 1556 litres of petrol, or 3.8L/100km. That added up to 4.15 tonnes of CO2e, an average of 100g/km.
The battery electric models, the Atto 1, Atto 2, Atto 3 and Sealion 7, came in at between 9 and 14g/km on New Zealand’s grid.
The 12 plug-in hybrids, a mix of Seal 6, Sealion 5, Sealion 8 and Shark 6 models, ranged from 49g/km for a Sealion 8 that covered 86% of its distance on the battery to the Shark 6 at 205g/km. The five that ran more than 70% of their distance on the battery all emitted 81g/km or less. Of the six that ran less than half on the battery, all but the Seal 6 emitted 131g/km or more.
| Vehicle | km driven | Charges | Distance on battery | L/100km | g CO2e/km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sealion 8 (06) | 1592 | 15 | 86% | 1.5 | 49 |
| Sealion 8 (04) | 2500 | 25 | 81% | 2.1 | 61 |
| Shark 6 (03) | 3002 | 59 | 82% | 2.3 | 71 |
| Sealion 8 (05) | 2648 | 24 | 74% | 2.6 | 74 |
| Shark 6 (05) | 3081 | 56 | 75% | 2.7 | 81 |
| Seal 6 (01) | 3821 | 26 | 45% | 3.4 | 87 |
| Sealion 5 (01) | 1226 | 5 | 34% | 5.3 | 131 |
| Shark 6 (01) | 4772 | 53 | 51% | 5.5 | 144 |
| Sealion 8 (01) | 3535 | 8 | 36% | 6.2 | 150 |
| Shark 6 (02) | 5324 | 24 | 40% | 6.9 | 173 |
| Sealion 8 (02) | 1966 | 5 | 28% | 8.2 | 200 |
| Shark 6 (04) | 726 | 2 | 27% | 8.4 | 205 |
BYD Auto NZ press fleet plug-in hybrids, August 15 to October 18, 2026. Source: BYD Auto NZ and Compass IoT
The dashboard also breaks down emissions by model and shows charging behaviour, including the split between AC and DC charging.
