MDL appointed distributors of BYD vehicles in Ireland

Build Your Dreams becomes a reality with MDL 
Our year is only six weeks old and we have just welcomed the ORA brand, with its 
all-electric, Funky Cat into our national carpark. We will soon be joined by the 
INEOS Grenadier, an internal combustion-engined, utilitarian 4x4, expected in 
March/April. In the interim, the folks over in Motor Distributors on Dublin’s Naas 
Road, have just announced that they are the newly appointed National Dealer + 
Partner in the Republic, for BYD electric vehicles. This appointment was made at a 
formal contract signing event held at BYD global headquarters in Shenzhen, China in 
the presence of MDL chief executive, Paddy Finnegan.  
While we sit here on the periphery of Europe, our ears may never have heard of BYD, 
all of which will change this year as we are introduced to the BYD ATTO 3, a C- 
segment SUV. Of some reassurance to the void in our knowledge is the fact that in 
June 2022, BYD Auto announced that it had sold about 641,000 EVs in the first half 
of 2022, overtaking Tesla to become the largest EV manufacturer in the world. 
Standing for ‘Build Your Dreams’, BYD is a world leading manufacturer of what is 
referred to as new energy vehicles. Describing itself as ‘a global innovator of 
pioneering battery technology, and creator of some of the world’s most 
technologically advanced electric vehicles’, BYD has held top place in China for sales 
of new energy passenger vehicles for 10 years in a row.  
 
Motor Distributors Limited has been assigned responsibility for national distribution 
and localised customer support for BYD’s innovative, eco-friendly range of electric 
cars and light commercial vehicles ahead of the arrival into Ireland of its passenger 
cars this year.  
 
A delighted Paddy Finnegan said that MDL is “proud to partner with BYD as their 
business partner in the Republic of Ireland, one that will lead to the creation of an 
estimated 150 additional jobs bringing total employment within MDL to 450 
approximately.  These will include sales, technical and customer support roles, for 
which recruitment will shortly begin.  
 
In parallel, arrangements are already in hand for the arrival of vehicles into Ireland 
and for the provision of technical, spare parts, distribution and other customer 
support structures in addition to customer-facing functions in marketing and 
sales. MDL will also establish a dealer network in Ireland whose purpose will be to 
provide localised sales and aftersales services to BYD customers across the country. 
 
Model Plans 
The BYD ATTO 3 C-Segment SUV model will come with high levels of standard 
equipment and combines modern aesthetics with the emphasis on safety, intelligence 
and efficiency.  
 
Central to its appeal will be BYD’s next generation e-Platform 3.0 and their ultra-safe 
Blade Battery power unit, which Mr. Finnegan said: “is being produced without the 
use of cobalt” 

and comes with 420km Range (WLTP combined)/15.6kWh/100km energy 
consumption (WLTP combined).  
 
Commenting on the significance their appointment MDL chief executive Paddy 
Finnegan further stated: “whilst complementing the long-standing distribution 
interests we currently have, this new opportunity to represent BYD and introduce 
their vehicles to Irish motorists is one of great importance to MDL by enabling us to 
re-establish a strong presence in the volume-selling segment of the Irish market. 
  
“For these and many other reasons all relating to their own ambitions and priorities 
in an increasingly eco-conscious world, the partnership now established between 
BYD and MDL is one that promises a rewarding and value-laden future for all 
concerned, including those dealers we will appoint to market their vehicles and the 
many future BYD owners whose motoring dreams we have yet to build,” Mr. 
Finnegan concluded.