Tokyo, 04 March, /AJMEDIA/
The Japanese unit of Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD Co said it will launch a new model for the Japanese market every year through 2026 to gain a foothold in the country’s fledgling market for EV passenger cars.
The announcement came as BYD surpassed industry giant Tesla Inc. as the world’s biggest seller of EVs in the October-December quarter last year.
Despite the popularity of its cars overseas, the company remains relatively unknown in Japan, where all-electric vehicles account for only 2 percent of new car sales.
“We hope to launch new models by listening to customers’ needs and demands,” Liu Xueliang, head of the Japan unit of the Chinese company, said in an interview with Kyodo News.
The models to be launched in Japan will be selected from the cars the company already sells in China, Liu said.
BYD will introduce the Seal high-end sedan later this year, followed by new models next year and in 2026. The firm currently sells two EV models, the ATTO 3 sport utility vehicle and the Dolphin compact car, in Japan.
BYD, which sold a cumulative total of over 1,400 cars in Japan as of December, said it will increase the number of its dealerships in the country to 100 in 2025 from around 20 currently.
As part of efforts to increase brand recognition, BYD will also start a marketing campaign at 30 locations, such as commercial facilities across Japan this year, so potential customers can take a look at cars and take a test drive.
The company also unveiled a new version of the ATTO 3, which is priced at 4.5 million yen ($30,000) and went on sale at its dealerships nationwide on Friday.
The new car is equipped with a bigger touchscreen on the dashboard and a karaoke app so passengers can sing inside the car. A mic is sold separately.
“One of the factors behind (Japan’s slow adoption of EVs) is that there were not many models for customers to choose from,” Liu said at a press conference in Tokyo. “We hope to widen a range of options for various customers.”
