New BYD models could be sourced from Indonesia

Chinese car giant BYD has announced plans to expand production in Indonesia, with a US$1 billion (AU$1.6 billion) factory to be built by the end of 2025.

According to news outlet Reuters, the plant will be mainly serving the export market.

CarSauce understands Australia may be part of those export plans, though exact details have yet to be outlined by the company.

BYD already produces the Seal, Atto 3, Dolphin, and the M6 – a people-mover offered in parts of Asia – in Indonesia, and is the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles there with 36 per cent of the market share.

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In 2024, Australia imported 1671 brand-new vehicles from Indonesia – the vast majority of which are believed to have been the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GLX 4x4 in the early part of last year, to help bolster supply.

It’s expected the new BYD plant will produce up to 150,000 electric vehicles annually.

In July 2023, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, with the two countries vowing to work closely together on new electric cars – just as Indonesia is pushing to become a regional hub for batteries and electric vehicles.

The BYD Sealion 6 was Australia’s most popular plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in 2024, outselling the popular Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

BYD has been aggressively dropping prices in recent weeks – in stark contrast to the wider industry – lowering prices and introducing newer, better-value variants across its line-up of electric and PHEV models.