'Korean Entry' BYD, to Manufacture Electric Motorcycles and Bicycles?

Amid rumors spreading that BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer from China, will launch electric motorcycles and bicycles, the company has officially denied these claims. However, since many competitors have already entered the related market, attention is focused on BYD's future moves.

According to local media such as China’s First Financial Daily on the 6th, Li Yunfei, BYD Group's Chief Public Relations Officer, wrote on his social networking service (SNS), "Videos and photos claiming that BYD is launching electric bicycles or debuting in the motorcycle market are continuously appearing on the internet," adding, "These are all untrue."

Earlier, BYD affiliate Fudi Battery announced that it would apply its passenger car research and development achievements to the motorcycle sector and increase related investments. If Li Yunfei’s statement is accurate, it means that the affiliate will produce batteries for motorcycles but will not manufacture complete products.

It is also noteworthy that many competitors in the industry are entering the electric motorcycle market. Representative companies include Geely Automobile, Lifan Automobile, Wuling Automobile, and Changcheng Automobile. Among them, Changcheng Automobile officially declared its entry into the motorcycle market at the recently held Beijing Motor Show.

BYD has announced plans to enter the Korean market within the year. Until now, it has only sold commercial vehicles such as trucks and forklifts, but it intends to bring passenger cars to Korea as well. BYD, which has already launched an electric vehicle (Seagull) priced around 13 million KRW, about 5% lower than before, is expected to launch a price offensive in Korea by introducing both premium sedans and low-cost lineups.

However, considering that BYD established a corporation in Korea nine years ago without significant results and that sales of the 1-ton electric truck (T4K) launched in April last year have been sluggish, some predict that BYD’s entry into Korea may not have a major impact on the industry.