BYD is looking to shake up Korea’s electric vehicle sector as the Chinese EV behemoth has become the second-largest EV seller among the 15 auto importers in the country with just a single model on offer.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association’s data on Sunday, BYD sold 513 units of the Atto 3, a battery-powered compact sport utility vehicle, in May. This tops some of the strongest players here, such as BMW with 493 EVs sold, Mercedes-Benz with 145 EVs sold and even EV-only brand Polestar with 455 units sold. Tesla retained its No. 1 EV importer status here with 6,570 units sold.

BYD’s Atto 3 even took the title of the most sold EV import model in April, with 543 units sold after the Chinese brand cleared some regulatory hurdles to carry out full-scale customer delivery. Tesla’s Model Y Long Range and Model 3 Long Range came in at the second and third place, respectively, with 533 and 350 units sold.

BYD Korea’s early success came as a somewhat surprise, as auto industry watchers expected the Chinese brand to have a limited impact on the EV market in Korea due to local customers’ negative sentiment towards made-in-China products.

The Korea Automobile and Mobility Association predicted in a report released in December, ahead of BYD’s official passenger vehicle launch in Korea, that the Chinese brand would have a tough time in the early days as it struggled to win the hearts of customers in Japan after selling only about 3,000 units since its entrance there in 2023.

However, BYD has been able to attract those who seek a more affordable EV with the starting price of the Atto 3 set at 31.5 million won ($23,000), which is significantly cheaper than the prices of other EVs in the same segment such as Hyundai Motor’s Kona Electric and Kia’s EV3 priced at 41.52 million won and 39.95 million won, respectively.

Despite expectations that most of the Atto 3 will be sold as company-owned vehicles for taxi or rental services, about 77 percent of the BYD purchases were individual buyers.

According to BYD Korea, of the customers who bought the Atto 3 in April, 20 percent were aged in their 20s and 30s, 30 percent were in their 40s, 32 percent were in their 50s and 18 percent were in their 60s.

BYD plans to more than double the number of service centers and showrooms to reach 25 and 30, respectively, by the end of this year to expand its network in Korea for better customer care. The Chinese brand’s Korean office is expected to launch the Seal, a midsized electric sedan, in the third quarter and the Sealion 7, a midsized electric SUV, towards the end of this year.

“BYD Korea will do its best to grow the domestic EV market by continuously launching new vehicles with high marketability that can satisfy a broad customer base while offering an optimized service environment,” said Cho In-chul, head of the passenger car division at BYD Korea.

hwkan@heraldcorp.com