Electric vehicle maker BYD continues to make its imprint on Thailand, the company’s largest market after its native China. BYD announced on Saturday the acquisition of a 20% stake in Rever Automotive, one of the largest Thai car dealers and its only local distributor.
Rever Automotive has a network of more than 100 car dealerships around the country. It introduced BYD in its offer in 2022, and it didn’t take long before the Shenzhen-based automotive company took the Thai car market by storm.
According to the latest data released by research firm Counterpoint, BYD is the biggest EV brand in Thailand, accounting for 46% of the country’s electric cars market. It is also the third largest car brand overall, with a 9% stake in the market.
“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and contribute to Thailand’s transition towards a more sustainable future,” Liu Xueliang, BYD’s Asia-Pacific auto sales general manager, said in a statement.
The news comes just days after BYD opened its first Southeast Asia factory in Thailand’s Rayong. The plant is a result of a $490 million investment and is scheduled to have a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles while resulting in 10,000 new jobs.