BYD ramps up global expansion, enters Indian EV market - PingWest

BYD ramps up global expansion, enters Indian EV market

BYD ramps up global expansion, enters Indian EV market

6 hours ago

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD is making quick moves to get more of its EVs on streets overseas. On Tuesday, it rolled out its first passenger car, the Atto 3, in India.

Over the next year, BYD intends to sell 15,000 units of the Atto 3, an electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV) model, in the South Asian country, where it has already invested over $200 million, and plans to set up a local manufacturing facility in due course, it said in a statement.

The Shenzhen-based company, which also specializes in battery technology, has a long but slow-moving relationship with the Indian market.

It entered the world's second most populous country in 2007, making batteries and components for mobile phone brands. In 2013, BYD started building buses with a local partner in India, and in 2021 it will launch the e6 EV for corporate fleets.

Compared to the country's huge population, India's auto industry is quite small, with only about 1% of the 3 million vehicles sold annually being electric.

The government, however, has joined the electrification movement, aiming to increase EV sales to 30% by 2030. Currently, Tata Motors leads the industry with the help of government subsidies and high duties on imports. In September, the homegrown giant launched India's cheapest electric car, priced at just over $10,000.

BYD has yet to announce the pricing of the Atto3 for the Indian market. But according to the company's announcement a few weeks ago, pricing for the model in Europe starts at €38,000 ($37058).

"India will be one of the key markets in BYD's global portfolio," Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, senior vice president of electric passenger vehicles at BYD India, told Reuters.

Gopalakrishnan said BYD already has a manufacturing plant in India where the annual capacity can go up to 15,000 units, indicating no immediate need for investment. Beyond that the company is "still exploring" what it needs to do, he said.

BYD has increased its presence in the global passenger vehicle industry since the beginning of this year. Previously, it mainly sold commercial vehicles such as buses, trucks, etc. in the international market. In July, the company said it would start selling its passenger EVs in Japan from 2023 and also set up a facility in Thailand to produce cars from 2024.

Data from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows BYD alone sold 792,734 EVs in the first seven months of 2022, up 301% year-on-year, making it the world's No. 1 EV maker.