The BYD ATTO 3 will launch in Japan in January 2023. The Dolphin is due to launch in mid-2023. The Seal will launch in the second half 2023.
Five years ago, few would have expected that a Chinese automaker would enter the Japanese market, home to some of the world’s largest car companies.
BYD (SHE 002594; HKG 1211; OTCMKTS : BYDDF), today announced that it is entering Japan’s passenger car market by unveiling three battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), locally known as the BYD Seal (Dolphin), Atto 3 (Dolphin), and the BYD Seal (SHE 002594).
Although it’s difficult to predict whether BYD’s passenger car sales will succeed in Japan, it is still the first Chinese vehicle (NEV/NEV) maker to enter the country. This comes decades after Japanese competitors dominated China’s affordable car market.
BYD announced today that the Atto 3 will launch in Japan in January 2023; the Dolphin in mid-2023, and the Seal in 2023.
BYD plans to work with Japanese dealers and partners to establish a complete sales and service system, and open up a new chapter for the internationalization and globalization of passenger cars.
BYD and Japan share the same green dream which allows them to be close to Japanese consumers, Wang Chuanfu (chairman and president of BYD group) said in a video message.
The BYD ATTO 3, also known as the Yuan Plus in China, was launched on February 19, . It is the first SUV to be built on its all-electric platform, the e-platform 3.0.
It was launched in China and is also available for preorder in Australia as Atto 3. Atto is the name of the smallest unit in time in physics, and was inspired by it.
The model was launched in Macau and Singapore in April.
The Dolphin is the first model to be built on BYD’s e-platform 3.0. It also marks the beginning of its Ocean series. This all-electric compact car looks a lot like the Honda Fit.
The BYD Seal is the second model in the company’s Ocean series. It follows the Dolphin.
The sedan is available for pre-order in China starting May 20. It features powerful configurations and attractive pricing, making it a strong competitor to Tesla’s Model 3.
BYD is not a newcomer to Japan, having had success here with electric buses.
BYD started serving Japanese customers with a rechargeable lithium battery in 1999. BYD expanded its business to include pure electric buses, energy storage systems, and electric forklifts in Japan.
Hanada Shinsaku (executive vice president, BYD Japan), stated that the company expects to sell 4,000 electric busses in Japan by 2028. This is due to increased awareness about electric vehicles and the Japanese government’s pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
BYD currently holds 70% of Japan’s electric bus market. It expects to keep that share of 30-40 percent by 2030, even with the entry into the market of other companies.
BYD reported that it sold a record number of NEVs (134,036) in June. This was the fourth consecutive month with more than 100,000 units.
BYD ceased production and sales for conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) in March to concentrate on making BEVs (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid cars (PHEVs).
Despite their popularity in fuel cars, Japanese automakers are not taking advantage of the NEV market in China.
According to data released July 8 by the China Passenger Car Association, 571,000 new-energy passenger cars were sold in China in June. This surpasses December’s record of 505,000 units.
China’s wholesale sales penetration rate increased by 10.8 percentage points to 26.1 percent in June from 15.3 percent in June 2021.
The penetration rate for NEVs in June was 45 percent for Chinese brands, 27.5% for luxury brands and only 4.8% for mainstream joint ventures.
