Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has just introduced three new models in the Indonesian market as it aims to advance as a global industry player, Reuters reports.
Expansion push in Indonesia
BYD has just intensified its expansion efforts in Indonesia with the launch of three new electric vehicle models on January 18, 2024.
The mix includes the popular BYD Dolphin, Seal, and Atto 3 (also known as Yuan Plus). It is a crucial part of the Chinese automaker’s efforts to dominate Southeast Asia’s largest economy as it currently leads in China.
“Of course in Indonesia we also should have such kind of very aggressive target.”
BYD Indonesia President Eagle Zhao
Why Indonesia?
Indonesia has a strong potential to advance in the global electric vehicle industry, owing to the government’s supportive policies and the abundance of nickel. Notably, nickel is a crucial material in the production of electric vehicle batteries.
That said, it is unsurprising that many foreign brands got interested in expanding to the local market. For instance, China’s Wuling Motors and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor dominated the BEV segment last year with their Air EV and Ioniq 5 models.
In addition, BYD has already tested demand in Indonesia with its electric buses and taxi fleets through local partners.
BYD’s electrification progress
BYD successfully beat American electric vehicle giant Tesla in sales in the fourth quarter of last year with 526,409 units. In contrast, the Musk-led company only sold 484,507 units.
In the full year 2023, BYD’s total sales reached 3.02 million electric vehicles, including BEVs and PHEVs.
Apart from the new model launches, BYD also plans to invest $1.3 billion in new factory development with an expected production output of 150,000 units per year. President Zhao further noted that BYD aims to start construction at the new factory later in 2024, with more plans to complete a sales network of 50 outlets nationwide.
