Aussie makes astonishing claim about its BYD electric car amid fears the vehicles could spy on YOU

An Australian driver has made the surprising claim that his Chinese-made electric car can spy on him using its SIM card.

The man, who drives a BYD EV, shared a video on social media in which he claimed the car’s software was able to listen in on his conversations via the SIM card.

SIM cards are now standard in most new cars and provide continuous access to the internet and various online services.

But the man warned that his BYD’s SIM card could be contacted by a third party, allowing calls to be sent from the vehicle without the driver knowing.

To prove the points, he made a video of him calling the car’s SIM card and on his phone he could hear the sound coming from the car, but there was nothing on the digital display in the car to show that a call was taking place.

Also, it seemed impossible to end the call from the car, and calling the car’s SIM card was possible even with the engine turned off.

More than 80 percent of electric vehicles sold in Australia are manufactured in China, including popular Chinese brands BYD, MG and Geely.

The man’s disturbing claim followed calls from former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce that Australia should follow the US and consider banning Chinese-made electric cars over security and privacy fears.

Speaking on Sunday, Mr Joyce questioned whether they could be weaponized for a “malicious purpose”.

An Australian driving a BYD EV posted a video on social media claiming the software could listen to what he was saying. Stock image

In the video, the man called the car’s SIM card and audio from the car could be heard on his phone, but there was no indication on the EV’s digital display that a call was taking place. Stock image

Mr Joyce said it was clear that online devices could be used by third parties for potentially nefarious purposes.

He cited the recent incident in which Israel secretly embedded explosives in hundreds of Hezbollah members’ pagers and then detonated the devices remotely, killing 12 people and injuring thousands.

“After the pager issue … the penny dropped for so many people that there is a remote capacity to cause enormous pain, enormous pain, perhaps at the very least to create complete collapse and chaos,” he told Sky News.

“If you can update the software, if you can track these vehicles, if they are made in China, if there is a malicious purpose behind them from a totalitarian state, what could be the consequences of that?” said Mr. Joyce.

Both Labor and the Coalition have ruled out a ban, which the US is pushing ahead due to perceived risks to national security and privacy.

Last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the internet-controlled cameras, microphones and GPS tracking in Chinese-made cars posed a threat.

“It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of citizens,” she said.

“In an extreme situation, foreign adversaries could disable or take control of all their vehicles in the United States at the same time.”

Despite US concerns, Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he wanted the public to have “maximum freedom of choice” when buying cars.

“We will not ban vehicles made in a particular country. We will continue to work with all relevant agencies to ensure all necessary arrangements are in place, but I want Australians to have more choice of vehicles to buy, not less, more choice,” he said.

The claims of cars spying on their owners had been made by others.

Another driver was unable to end the secret conversation from the car, even by opening the phone app or pressing the answer/hang up button on the steering wheel.

“Even if I turned off my cell phone I could receive calls, so there is no way I can see that an Australian Atto 3 customer could have privacy in his own car if someone is spying on him,” they said. autoexpert.com.au in January 2023.

Another driver said they had received several calls using their car’s SIM card, suggesting it may have been used in a phone before.

“I somehow had four different people call my car… The first time I thought someone had connected to my Bluetooth, but after the fourth I assumed they somehow called my SIM number,” they said.

BYD electric vehicles (EV) are on display at a car dealership in Shanghai, China, February 3, 2023

Barnaby Joyce (pictured) said Chinese-made electric vehicles could be weaponized for a ‘malicious purpose’

BYD’s Australian distributor, EVDirect, said at the time it was working with Telstra, the SIM provider, to resolve the issue.

“There is no risk of exposure for people obtaining car owner data,” says Luke Todd of EVDirect.

‘All data and SIM information is held securely by Telstra.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted BYD for further comment.