BYD Considers Second Factory in India

On October 12, a person familiar with BYD and its operations, suggested that the company’s Indian branch has been considering building a second factory in the country and will announce relevant information in due course, according to a report by Cailian Press. Previously, BYD had a factory in India to produce its e6 model.

Although the person in charge did not disclose more information, it was previously reported that BYD is seeking to take a leading position in the Indian electric vehicle market, hoping to gain 40% market share in this market by 2030.

The news of the BYD establishment follows the official launch of its first passenger pure electric SUV ATTO 3 in India (namded BYD Yuan PLUS in Chinese market). The company promised that the first batch of 500 vehicles would be delivered starting in January 2023.

SEE ALSO: BYD Launches ATTO 3 as Its First Passenger Car in Indian Market

“The launch of the premium electric SUV, BYD ATTO 3, was a huge success in India! Through proven innovation and technology, we are on track toward building a stronger ecosystem that facilitates EV adoption in India,” the company said on its overseas social platforms.

According to the plan, BYD will sell 15,000 ATTO 3s and e6s in India next year, and will expand the production capacity of its e6 assembly plant in India from the current 10,000 to 15,000 vehicles per year.

BYD has long eyed entering India, a new electric vehicle market. In the field of commercial vehicles, as early as 2018, the BYD K9 became the first pure electric bus in the country, and has sold more than 800 vehicles in 11 cities.

In February of this year, BYD officially delivered the first batch of 30 e6s in India. The price of the vehicle in India is 2.96 million Indian rupees ($35862), with the main use being ride-hailing operation cars. At present, the e6 has sold more than 500 vehicles in India, and has established 24 sales outlets in 21 Indian cities, and plans to expand to at least 53 by the end of this year. It is worth noting that when promoting e6, BYD India highlighted its “blade battery” technology.

Before officially announcing its large-scale entry into the Indian market, BYD has successively entered Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil and Colombia, and this year announced its entry into Japan and Germany.

However, compared with other countries, it is not easy to gain a place in the Indian market. Previously, Great Wall Motor, a traditional Chinese automobile manufacturer, had planned to invest $1 billion in India to acquire General Motors’s Talegaon factory in Pune, India, in order to produce its branded products including Haval locally. At that time, both parties planned to complete it in the second half of 2020. However, Great Wall Motor terminated the acquisition plan in July this year after a delay of two and a half years.