BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, marked a significant milestone on July 1 by delivering its first batch of 1000 vehicles to Indonesian customers during a ceremony attended by BYD Founder and CEO Wang Chuanfu. The event showcased models including the Dolphin, Seal, and Atto 3, which were introduced to the Indonesian market earlier this year.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, announced at the launch that BYD plans to invest 1.3 billion USD in establishing a car factory in the country. This facility is expected to have a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles and will commence construction later this year. Eagle Zhao, President of BYD Indonesia, outlined further plans to establish up to 50 sales outlets nationwide by the end of 2024.
The chosen site for BYD’s Indonesian factory is the “Subang Smart City,” spanning 108 hectares and designed to include a research and development center alongside training facilities incorporating environmental protection technologies.
BYD’s Indonesian venture marks its second major production facility in Southeast Asia, following the recently operational Thailand factory, which began trial production earlier this year and is set to commence mass production on July 4, aiming to reach an annual output of 150,000 cars.
Indonesia has been actively attracting electric vehicle manufacturers with incentives such as tariff exemptions and tax breaks for local production investments. Despite initially importing cars from China, BYD plans to transition production to Thailand and Indonesia as manufacturing scales up in these hubs, pausing plans for a Vietnam facility.
Indonesia aims to achieve 50,000 electric vehicle sales in 2024, following a notable increase in sales recorded at 9,178 units from January to May 2024. BYD currently holds a 10% market share in the country’s electric vehicle sector, which saw 17,051 units sold in 2023 according to the Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers Association.
