BYD's first wholly-owned overseas passenger car factory has officially landed in Thailand. On September 8, BYD Auto (Thailand) Co., Ltd. signed an agreement with WHA Corporation Public Company Limited to purchase land and build a factory, marking an important step in BYD's overseas business development.
In the field of new energy vehicles, Chinese car companies had previously focused on the terminal sales stage when going overseas. Now, companies represented by BYD are gradually shifting to a full industrial chain approach for new energy vehicles.
"Chinese car companies are overtaking on the curve and moving onto the world stage through new energy vehicles. Besides BYD, other car companies will also 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's investment in its first overseas passenger car factory in Thailand is normal and very necessary, helping it grow stronger in international business.
Wholly-owned first overseas passenger car factory
Liu Xueliang, General Manager of BYD's Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division, said the company chose Thailand because of its rich automotive industry heritage and first-class manufacturing capabilities. Thailand is the largest automotive market in ASEAN and the automotive manufacturing center of Southeast Asia.
In recent years, driven by policies such as developing charging infrastructure, building smart grids, and reducing taxes on new energy vehicles, Thailand's new energy vehicle market has developed rapidly, forming a strong market attraction. Currently, nearly 30 global automakers have entered the Thai market, employing about 100,000 people. The Thai government plans to increase the proportion of electric vehicle production to 30% of total vehicle output by 2030, making Thailand an important new energy vehicle market center in Southeast Asia.
BYD said that with the landing of its first overseas passenger car factory, the company will leverage its full industrial chain and core technology advantages, combined with Thailand's local automotive industry accumulation 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 use the most advanced right-hand drive technology and is expected to start operations in 2024 with an annual production capacity of about 150,000 vehicles. The vehicles produced will be sold in the Thai domestic market and 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 its overseas business and work together to make Thailand the electric vehicle center of Southeast Asia.
Sales network basically established
Previously, many domestic new energy vehicle companies going overseas mainly focused on the vehicle sales link. For example, BYD 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 Thailand's new energy vehicle dealer RêVER Automotive, officially entering the Thai passenger car market and planning to participate in the 39th Thailand International Motor Expo, showing more models locally. 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 many other areas.
Currently, BYD's global layout for passenger car sales is basically in place. On August 30, the 2022 Latin American Transportation Summit was held in Chile. José Miranda, Communications and Marketing Manager of BYD's Chile branch, said that since 2015, Chile has introduced a large number of BYD electric vehicles, including the first fleet of pure electric buses composed of K9 electric buses and a pure electric taxi fleet composed of BYD e5. BYD said its pure electric vehicles have been deployed in several Latin American countries, including Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
On August 9, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu said the company's new energy vehicles have operated in more than 70 countries and regions, over 400 cities, with cumulative deliveries exceeding 2.2 million units. In its July production and sales report, BYD disclosed for the first time that overseas sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 4,026 units. In its August report released on the evening of September 2, BYD showed overseas sales of new energy passenger vehicles at 5,092 units, up 26.48% from July.
New energy vehicle industry chain going overseas
"We will increase efforts in expanding overseas markets in the future," Wang Chuanfu previously said. He noted that the company faces considerable pressure in exploring overseas markets but has still allocated some scarce resources to promote the global electric vehicle market. Looking back at Wang Chuanfu's remarks, it can be seen that BYD's overseas layout is an overall layout of the new energy vehicle industry chain. The first overseas passenger car factory in Thailand means that BYD is shifting from geographical expansion to in-depth industrial chain development.
Building factories overseas has become a new model for Chinese auto companies' "going global." Besides BYD, other automakers such as Changan Automobile, Geely Automobile, and XPeng Motors have also started global layouts by building factories and R&D centers abroad. Industry insiders believe that the globalization process of China's auto industry is opening a new chapter, from a simple export trade model to a "local adaptation" model of building factories overseas, purchasing parts locally, and selling locally.
Zhang Xiang believes that Chinese car companies have certain advantages in the field of new energy vehicles. New energy car companies represented by BYD, leveraging their leading advantages, are going abroad not only with technical advantages but also able to seize the first-mover opportunity. In its external introductions, BYD repeatedly mentions 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.
BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu said the company's international business has expanded from the initial single battery to a range of green solutions including solar, energy storage stations, new energy vehicles, and rail transit, linking the entire industrial chain from energy acquisition, storage to application, providing effective solutions for global urban air pollution and traffic congestion.