BYD set to sell electric vehicles in Korea

Chinese BYD EV Han / Courtesy of BYD

By Kim Hyun-bin

China's BYD, the world's third-largest electric vehicle (EV) producer after Tesla and Volkswagen, is preparing to commence sales in Korea, according to industry officials, Tuesday.

The move comes six years after the Chinese automaker established a Korean unit. BYD recently opened an official Korean website and a sales office in Seoul last month, in addition to an existing office in the western port city of Incheon.

According to industry sources, BYD began a certification process and promotions for domestic EV sales, while it is also looking for dealers.

Kolon Global, which imports BYD forklifts, is being considered as a candidate to become a dealer. Kolon Global has accumulated experience in selling imported cars for brands such as BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Audi, and Volvo Motors, and operates a repair business for foreign automobiles, already possessing both sales and maintenance networks.

“We have not been officially contacted by BYD at the moment,” a Kolon Global official said.

KCC Auto Group is also cited as a possible BYD dealer. It is putting together a dealership network for Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche and Jeep. And like Kolon Global, KCC Auto operates an imported car maintenance service center. GS Global, which is currently in charge of the domestic distributor of BYD buses, is also believed to be interested in becoming an EV dealer for the Chinese automaker.

The names of BYD's representative models are all derived from Chinese dynasties. The electric car that BYD will sell in Korea is likely to be the midsize sedan Han, which is its best-selling model in China. Han comes in two versions: an EV and a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV). The length and wheelbase are similar to the Tesla Model S, but the price is less than half.

The Song EV is a semi-mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV). It is being introduced as an EV and a PHEV, but only the EV model is expected to be launched in Korea.

The high-performance electric sedan Seal, which was recently released and attracted attention in Korea, is not currently on the Korean website's homepage. However, BYD registered the domestic trademark for Seal in July. In addition to these cars, BYD registered trademarks such as Dophin, Carpe, Fari, Halo and ATTO with the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

However, some insiders believe the Korean public's perception of Chinese EV brands falls somewhat behind competitors and it will take time for BYD to enhance its brand value despite the cheaper prices of its vehicles.

“Customers have a wider range of choices, so it is thought that they will buy a vehicle after thorough comparison and analysis, and it is likely that customers will judge the value of the vehicle accordingly,” an industry official said.