One more global electric vehicle manufacturer has entered the Indonesian market. BYD, the Chinese giant in the electric vehicle industry, has entered the Indonesian market by launching three battery electric vehicle models on January 18. These models are the Dolphin, Seal, and the Atto 3 SUV.
One of the flagship models, the Atto 3 (known as Yuan Plus in China), is specifically designed for the global market and is BYD's first electric SUV built on the e-3.0 platform. Equipped with a low drag coefficient of 0.29, this vehicle can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds. According to WLTP standards, its maximum range reaches 420 km.
BYD's expansion into Indonesia aims to achieve market leadership in the country, mirroring its global success. This was conveyed by BYD Indonesia President Eagle Zhao, as reported by Reuters. BYD has been a leader in electric vehicle sales in the region, mainly due to more affordable models and close partnerships with local dealers.
As an electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD surpassed Tesla in the fourth quarter of last year, with the majority of its 526,000 vehicles sold during that period coming from the Chinese market. BYD also set a sales record in December with 341,043 units sold. Through 2023, BYD has successfully sold a total of 3.02 million electric vehicles, including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
In Indonesia, BYD has provided several units of electric vehicles, including buses and taxis, through cooperation with local partners. In March 2022, BYD delivered its first 30 buses to Transjakarta, the public transport operator in Jakarta. In the same month, BYD also delivered 22 electric buses to the local bus company Mayasari through its Indonesian electric bus distributor, VKTR Group. In May 2023, Blue Bird, a local taxi company, also announced its intention to purchase 80% of its electric vehicles from BYD.
Future projects
In addition to focusing on vehicle sales, BYD also has plans to establish a factory in the country with the largest economy in Southeast Asia. This factory will be BYD's fifth overseas facility, joining those already established in Thailand, Uzbekistan, Brazil and Hungary.
According to Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, BYD intends to invest $1.3 billion in this plant, which is expected to produce up to 150,000 vehicles. Eagle Zhao, President of BYD Indonesia, also stated that the company has ambitious plans to open up to 50 sales outlets across Indonesia by the end of 2024.
State involvement
Meanwhile, since July last year, Indonesia has been considering the possibility of providing additional tax incentives to attract electric vehicle manufacturers. In this context, Wuling Motors and BYD have been mentioned as some of the manufacturers planning to establish factories in Indonesia, as revealed by Indonesia's Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia.
In addition, the Indonesian government is working to formulate comprehensive policies in terms of regulations and incentives to make the country competitive with other nations in the region. Regarding incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles, Bahlil also emphasized that the government will strive to simplify procedures to make it easier for the public to purchase electric vehicles.
