Chinese carmaker BYD has emerged as the number one EV brand in Malaysia, just one year since it made its official debut in the country, according to data from RHB Research.
The bank’s research arm said in a recent report that BYD accounted for 37% of the EV market share in Malaysia in 2023, with 3,728 units sold in the year. The country saw 10,159 new EV owners last year – which, itself, was a meteoric 386% increase over 2022, and is expected to rise even more in 2024 despite a lower forecasted overall total industry volume (TIV).
The achievement mirrors BYD’s performance in many markets worldwide, including Thailand, where it is by far and away the best-selling EV brand with 30,650 units sold. In fact, BYD was also the world’s best-selling EV brand in Q4 2023 – overtaking Tesla, who many thought had a stranglehold on the global EV market share.
BYD has manufactured its six millionth new energy vehicle (NEV) in November last month, after having only reached its five million milestone three months prior.
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Back here in Malaysia, BYD currently sells two fully-electric models – the Atto 3 and Dolphin. The marque’s sole distributor here, Sime Darby Beyond Auto, does not provide sales breakdown for both models, but the former saw 1,000 deliveries in its first 100 days on sale, signalling at the brand’s approval in the local EV market.
Its third model, the BYD Seal, is due to go on sale within the first quarter, with order books now already open for the fully electric sedan.
READ MORE: BYD enters Indonesia with 3 models, to set up USD1.3B EV manufacturing plant
