BYD will sell cars in Japan through a dealer network rather than directly operated stores, because the former is the way Japanese consumers are most familiar with, an executive said.
(Image credit: BYD)
BYD aims to have 100 dealership stores in Japan by 2025, a company executive said, as the new energy vehicle (NEV) maker begins to enter the Japanese passenger car market.
BYD will sell cars in Japan through a dealer network rather than directly operated stores because the former is the way Japanese consumers are most familiar with, said Liu Xueliang, general manager of BYD Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division, in an interview with Kyodo News last week.
BYD is no stranger to the Japanese market, having run an IT-related battery business here for 23 years and offering electric buses there, he said.
The company makes both electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, and that's a top priority when it comes to EV safety, he said.
As for building a plant in Japan, BYD has not considered that step yet, Liu said.
On July 21, BYD announced at an event that the company is officially entering the passenger car market in Japan and unveiled three battery electric vehicles (BEVs), the BYD Seal, Dolphin and Atto 3 there.
The Atto 3 is expected to launch in Japan in January 2023, the Dolphin in mid-2023 and the Seal in the second half of 2023, BYD said at the time.
BYD will work with Japanese dealers and partners to gradually establish a comprehensive sales and service system and open a new chapter in the internationalization of passenger cars, the company said.
BYD and Japan share a common green dream, which allows the company to have no distance from Japanese consumers, BYD Group chairman and president Wang Chuanfu said in a video message.
BYD is China's largest NEV company, with 158,957 retail sales in July, ranking first with a 32.7 percent share of China's NEV market, according to a list released earlier this month by the China Passenger Car Association.
BYD released figures showing it sold 80,991 BEVs in July, as well as 81,223 PHEVs. The company halted production and sales of vehicles powered entirely by internal combustion engines in March.
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