The goal is to launch a passenger car brand early next year.
Seal, Ato3, etc. subsidies amount to around 30 million won
Cost-effective model expected to be launched in the first half of next year
Clash with Kia EV3 equipped with Indonesian battery
“BYD’s success or failure will depend on pricing.”
BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle brand that is dividing the global electric vehicle market along with Tesla, will enter the Korean passenger car market early next year. It has been eight years since the company entered the domestic commercial vehicle market, including electric forklifts, buses, and trucks, in 2016. BYD, which dominated the Chinese domestic market with its cost-effectiveness, is rapidly expanding its business into emerging markets in Europe and Southeast Asia, to the point that even Volkswagen, a European car powerhouse, is pushing to close its factory in Germany. BYD’s emergence is said to be an event that heralds a major change in the domestic market, where the entry-level electric vehicle market has just blossomed.
● BYD, known for its cost-effectiveness, officially enters the Korean market
On the 13th, BYD Korea announced, “We have completed the review of launching a passenger car brand in the domestic market and are formalizing its domestic launch.” In the first half of this year (January to June), as BYD Korea began selecting domestic dealers to sell passenger cars, there was a lot of talk in the industry that “the launch in Korea is counting down.” In response to this, BYD Korea, which had maintained the position that “nothing has been confirmed,” has acknowledged its entry into Korea for the first time.
The target date for launching the passenger car brand is early next year. Although no specific information was disclosed on the day regarding the specific launch schedule and model, the electric mid-sized sedan ‘Seal’ and the small electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) ‘Ato 3’ will be launched in Korea in the first half of next year (January to June). It is expected to be released.
It is reported that the two models are currently undergoing certification procedures from the Ministry of Environment, including exhaust gas and noise certification. Considering the local prices of the two models released in Japan before Korea (Seal 5.28 million yen, Ato3 4.5 million yen), the expected domestic launch price (excluding subsidies in the launch price) is expected to be between 30 million and 45 million won. .
The person who led BYD Korea’s entry into Korea was Jo In-cheol, CEO of BYD Korea’s passenger vehicle business division, who joined BYD Korea in April after serving as the head of BMW Korea’s Mini. CEO Cho said on this day, “In order to meet the high expectations of domestic consumers, we conducted an in-depth review with executives and employees with diverse experience and partners,” and added, “We will become a brand that can be trusted by Korean consumers with excellent technology along with global success experience.” “I will prepare diligently for this,” he said.
〈Global electric vehicle sales share from January to September 2024〉
※Including commercial vehicles and plug-inhybrids.
ranking | group name | Market share (%) |
1 | BYD | 22.3 |
2 | tesla | 11.0 | Volkswagen | 5.9 |
5 | shanghai car | 5.7 |