BYD said it has built up a team of more than 100 people in Saudi Arabia and will open more stores there.
BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) has opened its first showroom in Saudi Arabia, after launching the BYD brand in the Middle Eastern country earlier this year.
BYD's first Saudi Arabian store opened in the country's capital, Riyadh, on May 28 in the heart of the Al Ghader district, the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker announced today on Weibo.
The first BYD store in Saudi Arabia was built by local distributor Al-Futtaim Electric Mobility Company and includes a showroom, discovery center and service center.
The store allows local customers to test drive five models including the Han EV, Atto 3, Seal EV, Qin Plus and Song Plus, the first three of which are battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and the last two are plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The Atto 3 is known as the Yuan Plus in China.
According to the Saudi government's plan, the share of NEVs in Riyadh is expected to reach 30 percent by 2030, according to Huang Zhixue, general manager of BYD's Middle East Africa automotive sales division.
BYD will join hands with Al-Futtaim to create a local new energy ecosystem, Huang said.
BYD is investing more in Saudi Arabia and has built a team of over 100 people, the Chinese NEV maker said, adding that it will open more stores in the country.
On February 20, BYD officially announced its entry into the Saudi Arabian market and presented the Han EV, Atto 3, Seal EV, Qin Plus and Song Plus there.
As of now, BYD's NEVs are sold in more than 80 countries and regions worldwide, the company said.
BYD sold 939,508 NEVs in January-April, up 23.24 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
It sold 434,579 passenger BEVs during the period, up 17.77 percent year-on-year, and 501,867 PHEVs, up 29.22 percent.
The company sold 138,910 vehicles in overseas markets in January-April, up 159.40 percent year-on-year.