BYD's first wholly-owned overseas passenger car factory, fully funded by the company, has been officially established in Thailand.
On September 8, BYD Auto (Thailand) Co., Ltd. signed an agreement with WHA Corporation Public Company Limited to formally execute land purchase and factory construction contracts. This marks a significant step in BYD's overseas business development.
In the new energy vehicle sector, Chinese automakers previously focused on overseas expansion mainly through terminal sales. Now, companies represented by BYD are gradually shifting towards the overall advancement of the new energy vehicle industry chain.
"Chinese automakers are overtaking on the curve and driving onto the world stage through new energy vehicles. Apart from BYD, other automakers will follow suit," said Zhang Xiang, dean of the New Energy Vehicle Technology Research Institute at Jiangxi New Energy Technology Vocational College. He believes that BYD investing in its first overseas passenger car factory in Thailand is a normal and necessary move that will help it grow and strengthen its international business.
First Wholly-Owned Overseas Passenger Car Factory
Liu Xueliang, General Manager of BYD's Asia Pacific Auto Sales Division, said the company chose Thailand for its factory due to the country's rich automotive industry heritage and world-class manufacturing capabilities.
Thailand is the largest automotive market in ASEAN and the automotive manufacturing center of Southeast Asia. In recent years, with policy incentives such as developing charging infrastructure, building smart grids, and tax reductions for new energy vehicles, Thailand's new energy vehicle market has grown rapidly, gradually forming a strong market pull.
Currently, nearly 30 global automakers have entered the Thai market, employing about 100,000 people. The Thai government plans that by 2030, electric vehicle production will account for 30% of total automotive output, potentially making Thailand a major new energy vehicle market center in Southeast Asia.
BYD stated that with the establishment of its first overseas passenger car factory, the company will fully leverage its entire industry chain advantages and core technology strengths, combined with Thailand's local automotive industry foundation and large-scale industrial cluster effects, to actively promote the popularization of new energy vehicles.
BYD's overseas strategy includes deep localization. It is reported that the BYD Thailand factory will adopt the most advanced right-hand drive technology, is expected to begin operations in 2024, with an annual capacity of about 150,000 vehicles. The vehicles produced will be sold in the Thai domestic market and will also radiate to neighboring ASEAN countries and other regions.
Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, Chairman and CEO of WHA Corporation Public Company Limited, welcomed BYD to establish a production base in WHA's industrial park to expand overseas business and jointly work towards making Thailand a hub for electric vehicles in Southeast Asia.
Sales Network Basically Established
Previously, many domestic new energy vehicle companies going overseas mainly focused on vehicle sales.
Taking BYD as an example, it has successively entered passenger car markets in countries such as Thailand, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Japan. By cooperating with strong local dealers, BYD provides new energy vehicle products to local markets.
On August 8, BYD signed a cooperation agreement with Thai new energy vehicle dealer RêVER Automotive, officially announcing its entry into the Thai passenger car market and planning to participate in the 39th Thailand International Motor Expo to showcase more models.
As early as 2018, BYD deployed its first batch of pure electric taxis in Thailand. According to Ke Yubin, General Manager of BYD's Thailand branch, after years of cultivation, BYD's business in Thailand now covers electric forklifts, electric buses, and other fields.
Currently, BYD's global layout for passenger car sales has been basically established.
On August 30, the 2022 Latin American Transport Summit was held in Chile. José Miranda, Communications and Marketing Manager of BYD's Chile branch, introduced that since 2015, Chile has introduced a large number of BYD electric vehicles, including the first pure electric bus fleet consisting of electric bus K9, and a pure electric taxi fleet consisting of BYD e5.
BYD stated that its pure electric vehicles have been deployed in multiple Latin American countries, including Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
On August 9, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu announced that BYD new energy vehicles have operated in over 70 countries and regions, more than 400 cities, with cumulative deliveries exceeding 2.2 million units.
In its July production and sales report, BYD disclosed for the first time overseas sales of new energy passenger vehicles of 4,026 units.
On the evening of September 2, BYD's August production and sales report showed that the company sold 5,092 new energy passenger vehicles overseas in August, an increase of 26.48% month-on-month from July.
New Energy Vehicle Industry Chain Going Overseas
"We will increase efforts to expand overseas markets in the future," Wang Chuanfu previously said. He noted that the company faces considerable pressure in opening up overseas markets but has still allocated some scarce resources to promote the global electric vehicle market.
Looking back at Wang Chuanfu's remarks, BYD's overseas layout is a holistic arrangement of the new energy vehicle industry chain. The investment in the first overseas passenger car factory in Thailand means that BYD's overseas expansion is shifting from geographic expansion to in-depth development of the industry chain.
Building factories overseas has become a new model for Chinese automakers to "go global." In addition to BYD, automakers such as Changan Automobile, Geely Auto, and XPeng have also started their global layout by building factories and R&D centers overseas.
Industry insiders believe that the globalization process of China's automotive industry is opening a new chapter, gradually transforming from a simple export trade model to a "local adaptation" model of building factories overseas, procuring local parts, and selling locally.
Zhang Xiang believes that Chinese automakers have certain advantages in the new energy vehicle field. New energy vehicle companies represented by BYD are going abroad with their leading advantages, not only with technological advantages but also capturing first-mover opportunities.
BYD has repeatedly mentioned in its external introductions that it is a company that masters core electric vehicle technologies such as batteries, motors, and electronic controls, and provides one-stop new energy overall solutions.
Wang Chuanfu noted that BYD's international business has expanded from initially single batteries to solar energy, energy storage stations, new energy vehicles, and rail transit, forming a package of green solutions. It connects the entire industry chain from energy acquisition, storage to application, providing effective solutions for global cities to tackle air pollution and traffic congestion.