Over the last year, BYD has rapidly expanded its market reach across the globe. The latest market poised for BYD’s entry is the fifth most populous country in the world, Pakistan.
BYD on August 17 will hold a brand conference in Pakistan and show three models that will be sold in the market. These three models are believed to include an SUV and a sedan. Most likely candidates for the three cars are the usual trio that BYD enters markets with namely the Atto 3 SUV, Dolphin small hatchback, and Seal sedan. According to people familiar with the plans BYD aims to sell both all-electric and PHEV models in the market in the future.
For its foray into the Pakistani market BYD has partnered with Mega Conglomerate Pvt, one of Pakistan’s largest business groups. According to Bloomberg, this deal goes beyond the dealership model in most markets.
Sales in Pakistan are due to begin in the fourth quarter and before that the venture will set up showrooms in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
It has been reported that BYD also plans to set up a factory in Pakistan with production set to begin In 2026. Although BYD has confirmed plans to enter the Pakistani market they have declined to comment about the factory. It’s believed that BYD will form a partnership with Mega Motors a subsidiary of Hub Power Co., the country’s largest independent power producer.
The plant will be built near Port Qasim in Karachi which is already home to assembly plants of Japanese and Korean car companies including Toyota, Suzuki, and Kia. Port Qasim Is the country’s second largest port handling around 35% of the nation’s cargo.
Sales of locally assembled vehicles in Pakistan last year were 85,087 a decrease of 63.4% year-on-year and it is believed that passenger cars only made up around half this total. Encouragingly in May data from the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) shows that passenger car sales were 8,487 units, up from 3,934 units in May 2023.
The Pakistani government has a target of 30% of new car sales to be made up of new energy vehicles by 2030. Chinese producers including Great Wall Motor, SAIC, and Changan have already entered the local market.
BYD has already entered more than 80 markets globally. Back in July BYD opened its first wholly-owned overseas factory in Thailand with the production of the company’s 8 millionth new energy vehicle. BYD also has a JV plant in Uzbekistan and a factory under construction in Indonesia. Furthermore, BYD has signed agreements with Hungary, Turkey, and Brazil for the production of EVs.
Sources: Autohome, Fast Technology, Pakistan Today,
