BYD has finally made its debut in Indonesia last week, with the launch of the Atto 3, Dolphin, and Seal in the Archipelago – the same three fully electric models that have led the charge for BYD’s global expansion plans since the turn of the decade.
The Indonesian outfit will be led by Eagle Zhao, who is also the Managing Director for BYD Malaysia. And just like us, the three models will be fully imported from China for the time being. At the launch event, however, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartato, announced that the Chinese carmaker plans to invest USD 1.3 billion for the purpose of locally assembling its EVs in the country.
The development will make Malaysia the only nation amongst the three largest automotive markets in Southeast Asia to not have a BYD production facility. Back in 2022, the Chinese carmaker announced its plans for a manufacturing facility in Rayong, Thailand, which will serve as the right-hand drive EV production hub for the ASEAN region. Operations are expected to begin sometime this year, as the company scales up to an annual production capacity of 150,000 units.
According to Car News China, BYD’s EV manufacturing plant in Indonesia is also expected to reach an annual production capacity of 150,000 units. It has yet to be confirmed if the vehicles produced in the plant will be also be exported to other countries within the region.
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Indonesia has made significant advances in attracting investments from major EV carmakers, thanks to the country’s various incentives for domestic EV manufacturers, and its rich nickel and cobalt reserves – both key raw materials for EV batteries. Hyundai’s EV manufacturing plant has already begun operations as early as 2022, and more recently, Chery signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the Indonesian government committing to assembling the Omoda E5 in the country.
Closer to home, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz are the only two marques that currently manufacture battery-electric vehicles locally in Malaysia. Recently, though, Great Wall Motors and Neta have both kick-started their plans to locally manufacture EVs in Malaysia – the latter breaking ground on its upcoming facility last month.
Automotive giant Stellantis also recently announced its plans to make Malaysia its regional headquarters for the Asia Pacific region, with plans to export up to 280,000 vehicles – including EVs – in four years starting 2025.
