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China-based auto and battery group BYD — the world’s leading electric car manufacturer by volume now — is preparing to introduce a mid-sized electric SUV in the Indian market in the last quarter of this calendar year. The upcoming SUV will be the company’s second EV to be sold in India, the first one being its electric MPV E6, introduced inNovember 2021.
“Deliveries may start possibly from January 2023,” Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, Senior V-P of Electric Passenger Vehicle Business, BYD India, told BusinessLine. He added that the upcoming model is a global product, which has already been rolled out in Singapore and unveiled in Japan.
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Thus, it is gathered that the new SUV will be Atto 3, which is powered by the company’s patented blade battery technology and will have a 60.48 kWh battery to provide a range up to 480 km. “BYD’s electric vehicles will be positioned as a ‘tech premium’ brand in the Indian market. Gopalakrishnan said the company has been encouraged by the good response to its first product E6 and growing SUV sales in the country to launch a new electric SUV into the Indian market.
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Since its launch in November 2021, the company has sold close to 450 units of E6. The initial feedback and response have been encouraging, especially in terms of the performance of the car – range and battery stability and overall driving experience. “Be it a fleet or personal segment, we have got very positive feedback,” he added.
Like the E6, the upcoming SUV will also be assembled at the company’s Chennai factory, which can assemble 800-900 cars a month on a two-shifts and annually it can produce up to 10,000 units, said Gopalakrishnan.
Sales growth
BYD is bullish on the sales growth as it expects both personal and fleet segments to drive volumes. “In the next 3-5 years, Indian and global companies’ fleets will shift from ICE vehicles to products as part of their sustainability focus, and we hope this drives demand for MPV E6,” he said.
While the company has already tied up with companies like ChargeZone, Volttic and IndiPro for charging infrastructure, it is also in talks with some for home-charging solutions.
BYD has dealerships in 12 cities now and it will be expanding to 16-17 cities with 23-24 showrooms by the end of 2022. But, it has also been attracting buyers from tier-2 and -3 towns.
BYD displaced Tesla as the No. 1 EV maker by volumes as the Chinese auto major sold 6.41 lakh units during the first six months of this calendar year — an increase of more than 300 per cent as compared to a year-ago period — when compared with Tesla’s EV volumes of 5.64 lakh units.
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