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Chinese automaker BYD is not planning full-scale manufacturing in India yet but open to tweaking products to the taste of local consumers
BYD is finding success with its cars in almost every major market it enters, but India isn’t one of them. Despite the geopolitical differences between India and China proving to be a roadblock in scaling up its investments, the company is determined to grow.
Speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in the UAE recently, Ke Li, the Executive Vice President of BYD, revealed that the company is working on an India-spec model. Li affirmed India’s significance in BYD’s global business and said that the company needs to make more efforts.
BYD will launch “a different model adapted to India” and is working on its design, Li said. The company may not develop an India-specific car from scratch, as that would entail major investments and may not make much economic sense without local manufacturing, for which the company has no plans at the moment.
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A recent Bloomberg report led to rumours in the media that BYD will build a new assembly plant in India, but Li revealed that the company has no such plans. Perhaps, it is looking at modifying an existing model to the needs and preferences of Indian customers.
The BYD Atto 2 would be a fitting choice to unlock new growth in India. It is a mid-size SUV measuring 4,310 mm in length, 1,830 mm in width, and 1,675 mm in height. Called ‘Yuan Up’ in BYD’s home market, the Atto 2 has a 2,620 mm wheelbase.
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The Atto 2 is available in pure electric and plug-in hybrid variants, and the former could be the one that makes it to India. Packing up to 150 kW (201 hp) and 310 Nm of torque, it hits 0 to 100 km/h as quickly as 7.9 seconds and achieves a top speed of 99 km/h. It is available with multiple LFP battery pack options with an energy storage capacity of up to 64.8 kWh and can travel up to 430 kilometres on a single charge, as per WLTP.
BYD has been testing the Atto 2 on public roads in India since July and could introduce it in the second half of the year. The company may import CKD kits of the EV from China and assemble them at its factory in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. If launched, the BYD Atto 2 will compete with the Hyundai Creta Electric, VinFast VF 6, and Mahindra BE 6.
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