Chinese carmaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) is putting its building blocks in place in India for the Atto 3, which will be unveiled in the October-December 2022 quarter. The EV SUV is expected to be showcased at the 2023 Auto Expo in January in Delhi.
- BYD is focusing on increasing retail presence in major metros
- BYD hopes demand from fleet owners for e6 goes up to 150 units a month
BYD Atto 3 to follow SKD route in India
The BYD Atto 3 SUV built on the E3 platform is close to 4.5 metres long and is already on sale in right-hand-drive markets like Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The Atto 3 will follow an SKD (semi-knocked down) assembly route in India, and will join the all-electric e6 MPV – which was recently launched for private buyers in India at Rs 29.15 lakh – at BYD’s plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. Sources indicate that the starting price for the Atto 3 will be in the region of Rs 30 lakh.
Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, senior vice president, Electric Vehicle Passenger Business, BYD India, told our sister publication Autocar Professional that sales for Atto 3 will begin in early 2023 with the company keenly gauging market response. BYD, which has surged ahead of Tesla to become the largest EV maker globally, has been focusing on increasing its retail presence in major Indian metros where people are queuing up for EVs.
“We will expand the network gradually and the top 25 cities should be covered in a year along with charging infrastructure,” he added. The south is a big market for EVs taking up nearly 60 percent of overall sales.
BYD in India: Blade Battery tech and growing popularity
The experience with the Blade Battery has also been a huge positive and this word of mouth is what BYD will hope continues with the Atto 3. The brand says e6 users get 470 kilometres in normal city driving conditions. Feedback suggests that users like the e6 for its space and ease in intercity travel, especially with tourism also picking up.
According to Gopalakrishnan, BYD believes that the pace of electrification will pick up rapidly in India and account for at least 25 percent of the car segment by 2030. “We are in a good place as a pure electric company and technology will keep us ahead as we grow our share in EVs," he added.
As volumes grow, there could be more localisation and the business model could expand to even ship out parts and vehicles overseas from Chennai. Globally, BYD has strategic partnerships with Toyota and Daimler.
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