As recently as two years ago, Luke Todd was told his dream of making electric and new energy vehicles affordable and mainstream was laughable.

“Everybody said, ‘You’re crazy. No way can that happen,’” the Chairman and Managing Director of EVDirect tells The CEO Magazine. “But we’ve actually overperformed.”

That’s an understatement. EVDirect is the Australian distributor of BYD, the highest-selling EV manufacturer globally. In late 2023, BYD achieved the impossible by knocking Tesla from its throne. In early 2024, it began outselling Tesla in Australia.

And it has Todd’s company to thank. His success has earned him a place as a finalist in the Consumer & Lifestyle category of The CEO Magazine’s 2024 Executive of the Year Awards.

“We’ve taken a brand that nobody had heard of and turned it into a brand that now virtually everybody recognizes, whether they’re in the automotive industry or just looking to buy a car,” he says.

A new model

Over the last three years, BYD has sold over 30,000 vehicles in Australia. That’s quite an achievement given just how young the EV industry is. When Todd founded EVDirect in 2021, he did so with the understanding it wouldn’t – and couldn’t – be a traditional dealership; neither is BYD a traditional manufacturer.

“That old model, where people haggle and do all those unenjoyable things, is completely changing. The technology shift has been so rapid, predominantly in China, where cars are more affordable, better quality, more reliable and better for the environment,” he says. “The big players just haven’t been able to keep up.”

BYD Auto has been around since 2003 and launched its first battery-powered EV in 2009. It wasn’t until 2020, however, that its market share began to expand exponentially, prompting Todd, an industry veteran and at that time a Principal Advisor for BYD in the Asia–Pacific region, to establish a new sales outlet for the brand.

“We’re at the tip of an iceberg of dramatic change,” he says. “Industry-wide, the market is slumped. A backlog of orders put in during the COVID-19 pandemic that manufacturers couldn’t get built in time is about to end, so you’re about to see a lot of dealerships close. BYD is uniquely positioned.”

Setting the standard

When Todd began EVDirect, he did so in a way unique to the industry. “I didn’t have the baggage of the way things have been done for many years,” he says. “We worked out that an online digital purchase was the best way, and everything trickled down from that.”

It may sound simple, but an online retail presence was an industry game-changer. “If someone puts in an order for a vehicle, I instantly have more data than any other brand would. It’s all centralized through one website that houses all of that data,” Todd says. “We’ve become the envy of the other brands.”

Slick, light, agile and cutting-edge, BYD and EVDirect have made smart decisions that allow it to adapt quickly to industry trends and evolving technology. Todd and his team have made a conscious effort to streamline operations to keep it this way.

“A typical car sale involves 17 touchpoints between the manufacturing of the vehicle to when the keys, or fob these days, are handed over. We’ve reduced our system to five touchpoints, which means our prices can be extremely competitive.”

Utility in simplicity

Todd admits BYD’s – and EVDirect’s – phenomenal success has come from naivety. “Early on, we said let’s keep this high-tech and keep it simple,” he says. “It was a strong advantage.”

Doing things in a way that’s counter to industry norms has also made EVDirect an enviable place to work, Todd adds.

“I like to make sure that the people working with me are genuinely working with me. It’s not a hierarchy. I keep things flat so everybody in our group has a clear mission and everyone is treated equally,” he says. “I just don’t think the old way gets the best out of people.”

Australia’s EV market is young, and options are limited. EVDirect’s strategy is centered on filling this gap with affordable yet luxurious EVs that cater to the increasingly diverse needs of Australian consumers.

“A year ago, BYD was selling about 300,000 vehicles globally. Last month, it was 490,000-odd. That’s just unbelievable in the automotive industry,” Todd enthuses.

“By 2027, we aim to be the number one automotive brand in Australia. It’s a very interesting time, and we’re extremely well-positioned to take advantage of it.”