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Chinese EV giant BYD to open 15 showrooms across Korea

Published: 17 Dec. 2024, 17:18 Updated: 17 Dec. 2024, 18:10

CHO YONG-JUN
[email protected]

BYD Korea General Manager Ding Haimiao, fourth from right, BYD Asia-Pacific Sales Division General Manager Liu Xueliang, fifth from right and BYD Korea's Cho In-chul poses for the camera with BYD Korea's dealership partners [BYD KOREA]

Chinese EV giant BYD will open 15 showrooms across Korea.

The Korean unit's locations, including four in Seoul, will be operated by six dealership companies: DT Networks, Samchully EV, Harmony Automobile, Vision Mobility, G&B Mobility and SS Motors, which will also be responsible for sales, after-sales service and customer care for BYD’s passenger vehicles.

BYD already confirmed that it will work with six dealerships for Korean sales, starting in January, during an interview with the local media in November.

DT Networks, a subsidiary of Deutsche Motors best known as BMW Korea’s dealership partner, will open showrooms in Seocho District in Seoul; Suwon, Seongnam and Goyang in Gyeonggi and in Suyeong District in Busan.

An automobile dealership group based in China, Harmony Automobile, is set to operate in Gangseo District in western Seoul, Yongsan District in central Seoul and on Jeju Island, while Samchully EV, a subsidiary of energy company Samchully, will operate in Yangcheon District in western Seoul, Anyang in Gyeonggi and Yeonsu District in Incheon.

Vision Mobility will be responsible for operating in Seo District in Gwangju and Dong District in Dajeon, while G&B Mobility will open a dealership in Suseong, Daegu and SS Motors will operate in Wonju, Gangwon.

The number and the locations of service centers, however, were not announced.

The Chinese automaker said it decided to go for a dealership network system in Korea, just like it did with the other 99 countries it has entered, to help increase consumer satisfaction.

“We wanted to help consumers who have never experienced EVs to learn the correct information about EVs and give them a chance to experience the vehicles firsthand,” a press release said.

Tesla Korea, on the other hand, is known to directly sell the vehicles to its customers and does not operate a dealership network.

BYD Korea will make a foray into the Korean market on Jan. 15 with the Atto 3 compact EV SUV. The vehicle, expected to be priced at around 35 million won ($24,350), is slightly larger than Kia's EV3, a potential competitor in the local market.

The vehicle is rated for 420 kilometers (261 miles) of range on a single charge with the European WLTP standard, which may be reduced when measured with the Ministry of Environment's stricter standards.

BYD Korea denied local reports of entry into the Korean rent-a-car market, saying that while it is open to "consideration from many different angles," the company "did not contact any local car rental companies."

BY CHO YONG-JUN [[email protected]]