2024-07-06 14:17:02
Chinese company BYD will acquire a 20% stake in its local distributor Rever Automotive in Thailand, its largest market outside China, where it is the leader in the electric vehicle market, the two companies announced on Saturday.
The Shenzhen-based automaker opened its first Southeast Asian factory in Thailand this week. The $490 million plant will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles and employ 10,000 people.
Rever Automotive, which has more than 100 showrooms in Thailand, launched sales of BYD vehicles in 2022 and BYD quickly became the country’s best-selling electric vehicle brand.
“We are excited to deepen our partnership to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and contribute to Thailand’s transition to a more sustainable future,” said Liu Xueliang, BYD’s general manager of automotive sales for Asia Pacific.
Thailand is a regional auto assembly and export center, and has long been dominated by Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota Motor, Honda Motor Co and Isuzu Motors.
As of the first quarter of 2024, BYD had a 46% share of Thailand’s electric vehicle segment and was the third largest player in the passenger car sector, according to research firm Counterpoint.
The acquisition comes as Rever faces a government investigation into deep discounts that left some customers feeling like they were overpaying for their cars. (Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Jason Neely)
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