On July 4, the right-hand drive BYD Dolphin electric hatchback rolled off the production line in Thailand as the BYD’s 8 millionth NEV. The car was delivered to its owner by BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu. It took BYD 16 years to produce 8 million new energy vehicles.
The 8 millionth BYD NEV has rolled off the production line in Thailand. The construction of this facility started in March 2023. And it took a bit less than 16 months to start operating. Moreover, CarNewsChina reported that the trial production at this plant got going in the spring. The plant in Thailand is the first wholly-owned BYD facility overseas. It has a planned production capacity of 150,000 units per year.
BYD 8 millionth car
BYD manufactured the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in 2008. It was the Corolla-based F3 DM sedan. 13 years later, in 2021, BYD rolled off the 1 millionth car, which appeared to be the BYD Han EV. In 2022, BYD quit manufacturing ICE cars, focusing on BEVs and PHEVs. This step helped BYD to leverage its production volume. As a result, it took BYD 12 months to produce the 2 millionth car, and 6 months to make the 3 millionth NEV. The 7 millionth new energy car came off the assembly line on March 24, 2024. 4 months later, BYD produced the 8 millionth NEV.
On July 4, the BYD Thailand plant officially started mass production. At the same time, it has manufactured the BYD’s 8 millionth NEV. It appeared to be the BYD Dolphin electric hatchback finished in gray. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu handed over the 8 millionth Dolphin’s keys and the certificate to the owner. It is an international variant of the BYD Dolphin, also called the “European version”. It is bigger than the domestic Dolphin (see specs) and has other powertrain options.
The BYD Dolphin for Thailand is a compact car with dimensions of 4290/1770/1570 mm with a wheelbase of 2700 mm. It’s built upon the e-Platform 3.0 architecture and offers up to 490 km range, thanks to a 60.5 kWh LFP battery. The peak power of the Dolphin is 150 kW (201 hp), suitable for zero-to-hundred acceleration in 7 seconds. The starting price of the BYD Dolphin in Thailand is 699,999 baht (19,100 USD).
BYD business in Thailand
It is worth noting that BYD is the bestselling EV brand in Thailand. In 2023, it delivered 30,650 cars to its owners. In January-May 2024, BYD sold 12,902 units. The result isn’t remarkable. However, car sales declined in Thailand due to economic conditions, including high loan rejection rates. The factory in Thailand will help BYD to lower retail prices. BYD’s model line in the Kingdom comprises three cars: Dolphin, Atto 3 (Yuan Plus), and Seal.
The production capacity of the Thai plant is 150,000 cars annually. Initially, this plant aims to satisfy the demand of local buyers. But later, it will extend to neighboring ASEAN countries and beyond. We will remind you that BYD also has a JV plant in Uzbekistan with an annual production capacity of 50,000 cars. Another facility is in India, with a capacity of 15,000 units. Other projects of BYD include factories in Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and Hungary.
Source: BYD
