BYD will launch three additional new models in Vietnam in October and plans to expand its dealerships to 100 by 2026.
(A BYD Dolphin on display at the June 2024 Shanghai new energy vehicle show. Image credit: CnEVPost)
BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) is expanding its presence in Southeast Asia with the launch of three models in Vietnam and plans to roll out more models later this year.
The Chinese new energy-vehicle (NEV) maker launched three battery electric vehicle (BEV) models in Vietnam today -- the compact hatchback Dolphin, mid-size sedan Seal, and compact crossover Atto 3, which is known in China as the Yuan Plus, according to a Reuters report today.
In June, BYD began accepting reservations for the three models from local consumers. The company will officially open its first 13 retail stores in Vietnam on Saturday.
BYD will introduce three additional new models to the Vietnamese market in October and plans to expand its dealerships to 100 by 2026, according to Vo Minh Luc, the company's chief operating officer for Vietnam.
"Vietnam is the last market BYD sets foot in in the Asia-Pacific region and is an important market in this region," Luc said.
For now, all BYD models in Vietnam will be imported. The Atto 3 starts at 766 million dong ($30,300), slightly higher than the 675 million dong starting price of VinFast's VF 6, another Reuters report noted.
Vietnam's automobile market is small. Data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) show that passenger car sales in Vietnam were 214,619 in 2023, a 25 percent decrease from 2022.
The Vietnamese government said in May 2023 that BYD had decided to build a factory in Phu Tho province in northern Vietnam to produce and assemble electric vehicles.
Due to its strategy and a slowdown in the electric vehicle market, BYD had slowed down its plans to start construction, Reuters said in a March report, citing a manager at the industrial park where the plant is set to be located.
BYD does most of its manufacturing and sales in China and has begun building plants in several overseas markets.
On July 4, BYD opened its Thailand plant, its first in Southeast Asia.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet said on July 16 on the X platform that BYD planned to build an EV plant in Cambodia that can assemble 20,000 vehicles a year.
BYD sells 1,084 cars in Japan in H1 2024
