BYD driver's desperate solution to EV design flaw during wild weather

Severe weather in one state capital forced millions of Aussies to take cover over the weekend, and while trees fell and many lost power, an electric vehicle (EV) owner turned to a desperate solution to protect his BYD as it was battered by the wild weather — and other electric car drivers may want to take note.

On Sunday, Melburnians endured destructive winds of up to 150 km/h while hailstones as large as golf balls were reported, and in a bid to protect his car from the elements, a BYD Atto driver flung an old piece of carpet on his car's roof — a rather low-tech solution for a high-tech car. It highlights a design issue that drivers of the car have already flagged.

"A new must-have accessory for your Atto during a thunderstorm, a bit of old carpet," the driver wrote online, showing the carpet in question littered with hailstones as many more fall around it. "Cannot risk a hailstone through the sunroof!"

BYD Attos have glass sunroofs and this design has not only been an issue for owners during storms, but also during bouts of extreme heat. An Aussie couple who were travelling 1,800 kilometres between South Australia and New South Wales recently were forced to purchase a screen to help filter the "Aussie heat out", with the glass roof heating the inside of the car to uncomfortable temperatures.

Aussies reveal their solution to EV design concern

Many praised the EV driver's "good idea" when he revealed his hack online. Another BYD Atto owner wished he had thought of a similar solution after a previous hailstorm inflicted his car with dozens of "small dints and blemishes".

Others explained they had purchased "thick storm covers" like the travelling Aussie pair in a bid to protect their cars, while another Melburnian said he had purposefully driven to a Woolworths underground car park before the forecast storm occurred to protect his car saying the "garage [was] already full of other cars".

The issue stretched further than just EV owners, with drivers of all different types of cars expressing concern about vehicle damage as the large hailstones hit — with one Bendigo resident explaining his car alarm was set off by the damaging precipitation.

Hailstorm posed 'life-threatening injuries', authorities said

The State Emergency Service (SES) received reports of hail up to five centimetres in size on Sunday, with the weather described as "dangerous".

"There's large hail, three to five centimetre hail, that is very, very dangerous and can potentially cause life-threatening injuries," Andrew Feagan, state duty officer with the State Emergency Service said.

Thousands of residents were without power after power lines and buildings were damaged, with the SES responding to 471 callouts in total during the day until 6 am. Thankfully the wild weather dissipated overnight.

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