China's BYD Officially Enters Indonesian Market... Threatens Hyundai Motors

China's largest electric vehicle manufacturer BYD is officially entering the Indonesian market. It is expected to pose a threat to Hyundai, which currently leads electric vehicle sales in Indonesia.

According to Chinese economic media Caixin on the 16th, BYD will officially launch the electric sports sedan Seal, the mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) Atto 3, and the compact electric car Dolphin in Indonesia on the 18th. The selling prices are approximately 650 million to 800 million rupiah (about 56.03 million to 68.96 million KRW) for the Seal, 500 million to 600 million rupiah for the Atto 3, and 350 million to 450 million rupiah for the Dolphin.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

This is the first time BYD's passenger cars will be officially sold in Indonesia. Last year, BYD only supplied commercial vehicles such as the taxi E6, T3 (500 units), and electric bus K9 (22 units) to Indonesia. Caixin explained, "The official launch on the 18th will revitalize the Indonesian passenger car market and be part of BYD's long-term global business expansion."

The local market is also welcoming BYD's entry. Luhut Panjaitan, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, recently posted on his social media, "BYD's quality is not inferior to Tesla," and promoted that "BYD surpassed Tesla to become the world's best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer in 2023." He added, "This opportunity will accelerate the popularization of electric vehicles within Indonesia."

The Indonesian electric vehicle market is still in its early stages. From January to August last year, sales totaled only 8,209 units. The top-selling model locally was Hyundai's Ioniq 5, with 3,800 units sold during this period. Following that was Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer Wuling Motors with 2,100 units.

Indonesia is rich in mineral resources such as nickel and is promoting electric vehicle production bases as a future growth engine. The goal is to produce 600,000 electric vehicles by 2030. Currently, Chinese companies such as Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), Shanghai-GM-Wuling (a joint venture of SAIC, General Motors, and Wuling Motors), BYD, Chery Automobile, and Changcheng Automobile have entered the Indonesian market. Among them, Shanghai-GM-Wuling established an assembly plant in Indonesia in 2015 and has been producing vehicles since August 2022. In July last year, Indonesia's Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia stated, "Hyundai, BYD, and Wuling Motors will build factories in Indonesia."