Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD announced plans on Thursday to significantly expand its dealership network in Vietnam, aiming to challenge local competitor VinFast. BYD will open thirteen dealerships on Saturday, with a goal to increase this number to about 100 by 2026.
The initial offering in Vietnam includes the compact crossover Atto 3, which will be part of a three-model lineup. This will expand to six models from October, according to Vo Minh Luc, chief operations officer for BYD Vietnam.
“BYD is in talks with a number of localities in Vietnam to optimize the plant plan,” Luc said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The Atto 3 will be priced from 766 million dong ($30,300), higher than the 675 million dong starting price for VinFast’s VF 6.
Although all BYD models for Vietnam will be imported for now, Vietnam’s government announced last year that BYD had decided to build a factory in the northern part of the country. However, plans have slowed, as indicated by the company operating the industrial park in March.
VinFast, which no longer produces gasoline-engine vehicles, sold 32,000 EVs in Vietnam last year, though most were sold to an affiliate. In contrast, BYD has become the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer.
HSBC estimated in a May report that Vietnam’s annual sales of electric two-wheelers and electric cars could rise from less than one million in 2024 to more than 2.5 million by 2036.
