New EV plant: BYD selects Indonesia over PH, Vietnam

Early last year, we reported about BYD’s plans to build another EV production plant in the ASEAN region. It came as big news for the auto industry in the Philippines as the country was considered along with Vietnam and Indonesia.

But now that 2024 has come along, it’s sad to say that the country has lost out to its ASEAN neighbor. BYD has announced they are building their second ASEAN EV production plant in Indonesia. This announcement came after the introduction of the Atto 3, Dolphin, and Seal in the Indonesian market.

BYD is preparing to invest more than 1.3 billion USD for this project, with construction of the factory set to begin this year. Once the plant is operational, BYD says the Indonesia factory is expected to have a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year. This will be BYD’s fifth factory outside China, following the establishment of plants in Thailand, Uzbekistan, Brazil, and Hungary.

This also makes BYD the latest brand to set up its EV plant in Indonesia, much like Hyundai which is already making the IONIQ 5 EV in the Cikarang plant.

While our country may have lost out to this huge investment, we may still reap some rather small benefits with BYD setting up a new production plant in Indonesia. This means BYD Philippines could source out its models there, and enjoy a few more tax breaks thanks to AFTA.