BYD expects to sell 50,000 EVs in Mexico this year and 100,000 in 2025, the head of the company's Mexican operations said.

BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) expects to sell 50,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in Mexico this year and 100,000 in 2025, the company's Mexico head, Jorge Vallejo, was quoted by Reuters as saying in a report today.

BYD will announce by the end of this year where its first plant in Mexico will be built, Vallejo told a forum in Monterrey, Mexico's industrial hub.

The plant will produce 150,000 vehicles in the first phase and another 150,000 in the second phase, he said.

BYD began selling EVs in Mexico through imports last year and is now seeking an extension of tariff relief for EV imports in Mexico, the Reuters report noted.

The Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker delivered its first 100 Yuan Plus in Mexico in June 2023, marking the beginning of its deliveries in the country.

To date, BYD offers six battery electric vehicle (BEV) models in Mexico, including the Han, Tang, and Seal, and four hybrid models, including the Song Plus DM-i and Song Pro DM-i.

On May 14, BYD launched the BYD Shark hybrid pickup truck in Mexico, one of the rare times it has rolled out a new model first in an overseas market.

The BYD Shark was launched in Panama late last month, and the pickup model has yet to be launched in China.

BYD is looking to build a plant in Mexico, and BYD Americas CEO Stella Li said at the end of February that BYD's ambitions in Mexico are for local sales only.

"Our plan is to build the facility for the Mexican market, not for the export market." she told Reuters in February.

BYD sent a delegation to the Mexican state of Jalisco to consider building an EV plant there, a Bloomberg story on March 9 said.

The cost of building the Mexican plant could be about $600 million, similar to what BYD paid for its Brazilian EV plant, Bloomberg said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

BYD launches 1st pickup truck Shark in Mexico with starting price of $53,400