Chinese electric carmaker BYD launch its first passenger car in India, an electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV), marking its entry into the mainstream market amid a broader global expansion.
BYD, which already sells electric buses and electric vehicles (EVs) for corporate fleets in India, launch the Atto 3 electric SUV, fit with BYD’s renown Blade battery technology, in the world’s fourth-largest car market where Tata Motors dominates electric car sales.
BYD India Executive Director Ketsu Zhang said in a statement Said :
“We intend to sell 15,000 units of BYD-Atto 3 in India over the next year and plan to set up a local manufacturing facility in due course,”.
Company had invest more than $200 million (approx. Rs. 1,700 crore) in India.
The move comes amid a wider global push by the Chinese carmaker which has already start selling electric cars and plug-in electric hybrids in markets around the world, including Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Colombia.
BYD said it would start selling its passenger EVs in Japan from 2023 and also has plans to set up a facility in Thailand, its latest among 30 others in the United States, Brazil, and India to produce 150,000 cars a year from 2024.
It launch the Atto 3 electric SUV in Thailand.
BYD’s push into India also comes at a time when the South Asian country continues to maintain tight scrutiny of investments coming from bordering nations, including China.
Strict controls on such incoming investments forced Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor to shelve plans to invest $1 billion (approx. Rs 8,250 crore) in India earlier this year, after it fail to obtain regulatory approvals.
BYD has two manufacturing plants in India, spread over 140,000 square metres with more than 3,000 employees, Zhang said.
It would not need to bring in new investments to assemble and sell the Atto 3, a source familiar with the company’s plans said.
The Shenzhen-base auto and battery producer, which includes Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway as an investor, entered India in 2007 producing batteries and components for mobile phone makers from its plant near the southern city of Chennai.
In 2013, it start building buses in the country with a local Indian partner and launch its e6 EV in 2021 for sale to corporate fleet operators and owners.
