BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) has completed the deliveries of 1,000 units of its compact electric SUV (sport utility vehicle) Atto 3 in South Korea in less than two months, marking the initial success of this Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker in the market.
BYD Korea announced today that the 1,000th Atto 3 was delivered at its Seoul Seocho showroom on May 28, according to a report by Business Korea today.
This comes just one and a half months after the model began deliveries in South Korea on April 14. The Atto 3 is known as the Yuan Plus in China.
As of last month, the age distribution of Atto 3 customers was relatively balanced, with 20-30 year-olds accounting for 20 percent, those in their 40s for 30 percent, those in their 50s for 32 percent, and those over 60 for 18 percent, according to the report.
BYD officially entered the South Korean passenger vehicle market on January 16, introducing the Atto 3, following its entry into the commercial vehicle market in the Asian country several years ago.
The company had originally planned to begin delivering the Atto 3 in South Korea by mid-February, but delivery timelines were delayed until mid-April due to subsidy certification bottlenecks.
The Atto 3 quickly became a hit in South Korea within its first week of launch, with over 1,000 pre-orders, according to a report by The Korea Economic Daily earlier this month.
The model sold 543 units in South Korea in April, surpassing the Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model Y Long Range Edition’s 533 units and the Model 3 Long Range Edition’s 350 units, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association cited in the report.
In April, a total of 3,712 imported EVs were sold in South Korea, with the Atto 3 accounting for 14.6 percent of the market share, according to the report.
The Atto 3 was first launched in China in February 2022 as BYD’s first global model. The vehicle currently has a starting price of RMB 115,800 ($16,340) in China.
The Atto 3 has a starting price of KRW 31 million ($22,550) in South Korea, and after national and local government subsidies, the price is around KRW 20 million, according to a report by Chosun Biz on April 14.
($1 = RMB 7.1886, $1 = KRW 1,375.01)
BYD will increase its sales network in South Korea from 15 to 30 by the end of this year.
