Rever currently has about 100 dealership outlets, making BYD the dominant automaker in Thailand's EV market with a 40 percent share.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
BYD's (OTCMKTS: BYDDF) sole distributor in Thailand is set to triple the number of its dealerships in the country within two years, as the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) giant expands its international presence.
By the end of 2025, Rever Automotive will add 200 dealerships, expand commercial vehicle offerings and enter new passenger car segments, Reuters quoted the Thai company's CEO Pratarnwong Phornprapha as saying in a report today.
Rever plans to have 200 dealership outlets by the end of this year and another 100 next year, Pratarnwong said, according to the report.
"I think around 300 for us is a healthy number," Pratarnwong said.
Pratarnwong said Rever currently has about 100 dealerships, making BYD the dominant automaker in Thailand's electric vehicle (EV) market with a 40 percent share, according to Reuters.
BYD held a joint press conference with Rever in Bangkok on August 8, 2022, to announce its official entry into the Southeast Asian country's passenger car market.
The first model it has available in Thailand is the Atto 3, known in China as the Yuan Plus, which was released in the country in October 2022.
As of now, BYD models available in Thailand include the Atto 3, the Seal, and the Dolphin.
In addition to passenger cars, Rever is looking to use BYD vehicles and technology to make inroads into commercial fleets, including taxis, short-haul trucks, vans, and buses, according to Reuters.
Thailand has more than 81,000 registered taxis as of September 2023, according to government data, and Rever aims to capture 40 percent of new vehicles entering that market, Pratarnwong said.
Pratarnwong said a Rever subsidiary is also building a bus production facility that will use BYD technology, with the first chassis likely to roll out in the third quarter.
Rever is also offering BYD T3 vans for limited-distance deliveries during the Covid-19 pandemic, Rever vice CEO Pratarnporn Phornprapha said, according to Reuters.
BYD participated in the Thailand auto show from late November to early December and displayed five models including the Atto 3, Dolphin, Seal, Yangwang U8 and Denza N7. The company garnered 5,455 orders at the show, placing it third on the show's sales list, it said last month.
BYD sold a record 341,043 NEVs in December, including 36,095 sold overseas.
For all of 2023, BYD sold 3,024,417 NEVs and 242,765 overseas, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
BYD is building a plant in Thailand, which started construction in March 2023 and is expected to begin production in 2024, with an annual capacity of about 150,000 units.
