BYD has purchased a 96 hectare piece of land in Rayong, Thailand’s auto hub that’s south of Pattaya. The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) specialist will set up an EV factory in the eastern province, and the facility is expected to roll out 150,000 cars a year from 2024, Reuters reports.
BYD announced this last week in a joint statement with WHA Group, a Thai industrial developer. The Rayong factory is set to be a big export hub to ASEAN and beyond for the Warren Buffett-backed company. Of the total annual output of 150k, only 10,000 units are earmarked for domestic sales, with the rest going to ASEAN and European markets.
This follows the news that BYD’s new Thailand distributor, Rever Automotive, is set to launch its first CBU model on October 10. The BYD Atto 3 will will be close what Australia gets in terms of specs. The Extended Range variant will debut next month at around 1.2 million baht (RM146,809) and the Standard Range will launch at the end of 2022, possibly at the Thailand International Motor Expo.
Deliveries of the Atto 3, known as the Yuan Plus in China, have just started in Australia. There, customers can choose from the Standard Range for A$44,990 (RM137,364) or the Extended Range for A$47,990 (RM146,523), before state-specific EV incentives. The Extended Range price is similar to the expected Thai price with government incentives.
The neat-looking electric crossover features a front-mounted 204 PS/310 Nm electric motor, which is good for 0-100 km/h in 7.3 seconds. The Standard Range comes with a 49.92 kWh battery offering 345 km of range (WLTP, 410 km if NEDC), while the Extended Range gets a 60.48 kWh unit that’s rated at 420 km (WLTP, 480 km if NEDC). The in-house Blade EV batteries support AC charging (Type 2 connection) up to 7 kW as well as DC fast charging (CCS2).
For the latter, the Standard Range can take in 70 kW max, while it’s 80 kW for the Extended Range, the higher input allowing for 0-80% state of charge in 45 minutes. One can also charge appliances via V2L (vehicle-to-load) at up to 2.2 kW.
Kit-wise, it’s the same for both range variants in Australia. The list includes 18-inch wheels with 215/55 tyres, LED exterior lighting, panoramic sunroof, powered tailgate, 5.0-inch digital instrument display, 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, automatic air-con with PM2.5 air filter, synthetic leather upholstery, powered/heated front seats, wireless charger as well as keyless entry and start with card key.
On the safety front, there’s seven airbags, a 360-degree view monitor and a full ADAS pack. Down Under, the Atto 3 comes with a six-year/150,000-km warranty plus an eight-year/160,000 km battery warranty. What do you think of the BYD Atto 3? Currently, the Hyundai Kona Electric e-Lite at RM156,538 – duty-free but with SST – is the most affordable EV in Malaysia.
GALLERY: BYD Atto 3
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This should be in Malaysia if not for a fatal decision for creating a jaguh kampung to membela a bunch of useless people almost 40 years ago.
Very proud of exporting car to Africa. Pfftttt
Very proud to whack your own country? That is the stupidest thing you people could do and did do.
Why should Arab buy full specs Proton cars cheaper than us here.
Bodoh. Their currency is higher than us.
Ye ke? When Geely first came here thru P1, bashers whacking country, whacking gomen, whacking Geely, whacking P1, whacking China, and that Msia dah jual to China lor. Then somemore whack ECRL, whack Forest City, whack China setting plants. So much so China now scared to come here.
And you idiots wanna blame P1? Pffttttt! Go fly ur kite in some other country lor, maybe then their investments can divert to us.
Malaysia, this could be you, but nah, ketuanan power!
kakakakaka, Malaysians are too high class for China car!
More like China very smart running away from 51 percent booby trap.
Copy paste: “Ye ke? When Geely first came here thru P1, bashers whacking country, whacking gomen, whacking Geely, whacking P1, whacking China, and that Msia dah jual to China lor. Then somemore whack ECRL, whack Forest City, whack China setting plants. So much so China now scared to come here.
And you idiots wanna blame P1? Pffttttt! Go fly ur kite in some other country lor, maybe then their investments can divert to us.”
why did you copy Celup King’s comment?
That is the problem. Here we whack them kawkaw until they run away to Siam where they are welcomed.
If they set in Malaysia, no sparepart 2.0 foresee.
despite all the floods and political unrests, they still prefer siam
They got scared of Msians whacking them and all their investment projects. Who in the right mind will want to come to a place they are not welcomed, at least by certain vocal segments with ulterior motives, the same ones that are whacking the country now that they run to Siam? Go figure.
this could be malaysia but too bad all the malaysian keep whacking china car. why whack china car when our national brand p1 is own by a china brand and 2 of their best selling car is a rebadge china car lol.
No brainer decision. At least they can own 100% of their shareholding in TH.
And then setup mini colony of Chinese mainlanders there, everything in chinese not thai, then Thais will start complaining about job losses and selling out the country to China. Now where have we heard that before?
Before X70 arrive at our shore noone knows much about China cars
Auto magazines never gives any coverage to China cars
Out of sudden China cars have advance so much
Competitors caught unaware