BYD has launched the Seal, Dolphin and Atto 3 in Indonesia and plans to invest $1.3 billion in a plant with a capacity of 150,000 vehicles.

(File photo shows a BYD Dolphin on display at the April 2023 Shanghai auto show. Image credit: CnEVPost)

Chinese NEV (NEV) giant BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDF) has launched three electric models in Indonesia, further expanding its international presence.

BYD today launched the Seal sedan, Dolphin hatchback and Atto 3 SUV in Indonesia. The Atto 3, named Yuan Plus in China and launched on February 19, 2022, is its first model built for the global market.

BYD aimed for the same market leadership in Indonesia as it has globally, Reuters quoted the company's Indonesia president Eagle Zhao as saying in today's report.

"Of course in Indonesia we also should have such kind of very aggressive target," he said.

In Southeast Asia, BYD has been outperforming other automakers in EV sales thanks to affordable models and partnerships with local dealers, the Reuters report noted.

BYD has been providing its fleet of electric buses and cabs through local partners in Indonesia, delivering its first 30 BYD buses on March 8, 2022 to Transjakarta, a public transit operator in Jakarta.

In March 2023, Indonesia's BYD electric bus distributor, VKTR Group, delivered 22 electric buses, the K9, to local bus company Mayasari, the second batch of BYD buses delivered there.

In May 2023, Blue Bird, Indonesia's largest cab operator, said it would buy 80 percent of its EVs from BYD.

In addition to selling vehicles in Indonesia, BYD also plans to build a factory in the largest economy of Southeast Asia.

BYD was planning to invest $1.3 billion in facilities with a capacity of 150,000 vehicles, Indonesia's Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said in a video message delivered at Thursday's launch event, according to the Reuters report.

BYD was on track to build the facilities on schedule later this year as scheduled and would establish a local sales network of up to 50 dealerships by the end of 2024, Zhao said.

BYD sold a record 341,043 NEVs in December, bringing full-year 2023 sales to 3,024,417 units.

The company sold 36,095 NEVs overseas in December, taking overseas NEV sales in 2023 to 242,765 units, an increase of about five times from 2022, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

On January 15, BYD said its first roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) car carrier it chartered set sail fully loaded, with seven other ro-ro vessels due to come into operation over the next two years.

BYD's 1st car carrier sets sail fully loaded, 7 more to join fleet in next 2 years