The 100,000th vehicle has rolled off the production line, what stage of development has BYD reached in Thailand?
The market test is still ongoing
Not long ago, when the author used Grab to hail a ride in Kuala Lumpur, he met a Chinese driver who was preparing to build a chartered car fleet.
He is very young, talking about his entrepreneurial plan and the next car he plans to buy — a green BYD Qin.
In his vision, the larger seating and storage space is suitable for long-distance travel and can take more chartered car orders.
"The car has to be green!"
The author asked in confusion why he chose green, and he said green is more youthful, vibrant and eye-catching.
The "Qin" he mentioned is called Seal 6 EV in Malaysia, which just added the Sage Green color option in May this year. For this young man, new energy vehicles are no longer just a trial consumer product, they have become a production tool in his entrepreneurial plan.
A month later, in Rayong, Thailand, hundreds of kilometers away, BYD celebrated the off-line of the 100,000th new energy vehicle produced at its local factory.
One is the Malaysian driver's car purchase plan, and the other is the production capacity milestone of the Thai factory, which respectively fall on the consumption end and the manufacturing end, forming two perspectives of BYD's entry into Southeast Asia.
Competition is everywhere
In July 2024, BYD's Thailand factory was put into operation. According to the information disclosed by the company at that time, the factory took about 16 months from the start of construction to operation, with a planned annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, covering stamping, welding, painting and final assembly processes, as well as parts production links. The first off-line model was Dolphin, which is also BYD's 8 millionth new energy vehicle worldwide.
Placing its first overseas passenger vehicle production base in Thailand has practical foundations.
Thailand has long been the automobile production and export center in Southeast Asia, with a large-scale formed system of automobile manufacturing, parts supply and export channels. What BYD entered is exactly an automobile industrial system that is accelerating its transformation to electrification.
Changes on the demand side are equally obvious.
Data from the Thailand Board of Investment shows that in the first seven months of 2026, the total registration volume of battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and ordinary hybrid vehicles accounted for 55% of the new car market.
Specifically for battery electric vehicles, data from the Department of Land Transport of Thailand shows that in the first seven months of 2025, 67,184 new passenger battery electric vehicles were registered in Thailand, and the number rose to 126,439 in the same period of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 88.2%.
The expanding market has also brought more competitors.
In the first seven months of 2025, BYD and Denza registered a total of about 24,900 vehicles, and the number was about 24,400 in the same period of 2026. Thailand's pure electric vehicle market has expanded by nearly 90%, but the combined registration volume of BYD and Denza remained basically flat, and the new demand flowed to more competitors.
Looking at the market share, the situation is more direct: the combined share of BYD and Denza in the first seven months of 2025 was 37.0%, and it was 19.3% in the same period of 2026. The following Chery brand series took a share of 18.5%.
If we only look at the single month of July, the top three registered passenger battery electric vehicle brands are Geely series, Chery series and SAIC MG, and BYD is not among the top three.
Market share will fluctuate with the launch of new models and delivery rhythm. BYD is still at the forefront, but its leading margin has been very narrow.
Price is also a key part of the competition.
According to the promotion terms announced by Thai dealer RÊVER from September 16 to 30, both the Premium and Extended configurations of ATTO 3 offer a basic discount of 130,000 Thai baht, with the discounted prices being 669,900 baht and 769,900 baht respectively, down by about 16.3% and 14.4% from the original prices.
However, BYD still has advantages in the plug-in hybrid market. In the first seven months of 2026, its passenger plug-in hybrid vehicle registration share reached 46.1%.
The significance of the local factory is thus highlighted. Production arrangements and delivery rhythm can be placed closer to consumers, and BYD can also participate in the new energy vehicle supply chain that is taking shape in Thailand.
As more brands enter the market, the first-mover advantage needs to be sustained by continuous supply and product competitiveness.
The Deep Implications of the Factory
The products of BYD Thailand Factory cover both pure electric and plug-in hybrid models, and the 100,000th off-line model this time is ATTO 3.
At present, the factory produces five models: Dolphin, ATTO 3, SEAL 5 DM-i, SEALION 5 DM-i and SEALION 6 DM-i, all of which have obtained the "Made in Thailand" certification. According to BYD's disclosure, about 95% of the factory's employees are Thai nationals, and the local procurement ratio is about 50%. Local operations have gone deep into employment and supply links.
Localization has also extended to suppliers.
BYD has established cooperation with 266 local parts manufacturers and suppliers, of which 125 manufacturers produce materials and parts in Thailand, and more than 1090 parts have obtained the standards certification of the Thailand Automotive Institute.
Whether an automobile factory can stay in one place for a long time involves not only the jobs on the final assembly line, but also whether local enterprises can continue to be included in the procurement list and produce more key components. The number of suppliers has reached a certain base, and the specific procurement scale and the proportion of high-value parts can better reflect the depth of the local industrial chain.
The destination of products gives the Thai factory a second role.
BYD Thailand Factory has accumulated exports of more than 24,000 vehicles. In the first half of 2026, exported vehicles accounted for about 40% of the factory's output, and the export destinations include ASEAN, South Asia, Australia and Europe.
In August 2025, the Dolphin made in Thailand was first shipped to Europe. For a factory that originally mainly served Thailand and surrounding markets, European orders have expanded its market radius. By arranging models and output in different regions, the value of the Thai base no longer depends on the demand of a single market.
Exports are also driven by Thailand's policy level. Due to the limited capacity of the local market, policies are also guiding automakers to integrate Thai factories into a broader sales network.
Taking EV3 and EV3.5 as examples, the incentive measures link import preferences with subsequent local production. In the adjustment plan announced by the Thailand Board of Investment, each exported electric vehicle produced locally can be counted as 1.5 vehicles when fulfilling production obligations.
The direction of the policy is still being adjusted. In September 2026, the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee of Thailand agreed in principle to restructure the automobile consumption tax system, proposing to link import and tax incentives with automakers' local investment, parts procurement and employment contribution.
At present, the plan is still in the stage of principled agreement, but the signal it sends is clear. Building a factory in Thailand is only the first step to enter the industrial system. Continuously keeping production and procurement locally is more in line with the policy orientation of the next stage.
For BYD, which already has a factory and supplier network, the early investment has laid a certain foundation, and policy adjustments will further guide competition to links such as local procurement and high-skilled employment.
In terms of performance, the proportion of overseas business is gradually rising.
The 2026 semi-annual report shows that BYD exported 792,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 67.8%; the group's overseas operating income was about 181.268 billion yuan, accounting for 52.6% of the total revenue, and the proportion of overseas markets in the group's revenue structure has exceeded half.
From Overseas Production to Overseas Operation
As the business radius expands, the operation system also needs to extend accordingly. The Thai factory has provided a specific practice. After the equipment and processes are put in place, how to transfer production experience to the local team also affects the development of this factory.
Relevant reports show that since the end of 2024, the Rayong base has implemented the "Seed Talent Program", selecting Thai team leaders and engineers to go to China for training. The training covers R&D, trial production and production launch links. After returning to Thailand, the trainees will take up management positions and participate in technical and daily communication between the Chinese and Thai teams.
The value of this kind of training lies in enabling people who are familiar with local languages and working habits to master the technical requirements of the factory and the methods to solve problems. Manufacturing standards need to be consistent, while on-site communication and personnel management need to adapt to the local environment. The gradual growth of local managers helps reduce dependence on expatriates and allows production experience to remain in the factory more stably.
Talent training is also extending to the after-sales link. In March 2026, Chengdu Industrial Vocational and Technical College and BYD Auto Thailand held the special job fair for the third Thailand Program class. The positions are open to multiple after-sales service centers in Bangkok, involving new energy vehicle maintenance and troubleshooting.
The time span of automobile business is much longer than a single delivery. As vehicles are put into daily use, the convenience of maintenance and the timeliness of fault handling will continuously affect consumers' perception of the brand. The production end needs skilled workers, and the service end also needs local personnel who understand models and technologies. Establishing a continuous talent source for these positions can support the brand's long-term local operation.
From this perspective, the investment brought by overseas factories will gradually go beyond factories and production lines. Training, technical support and after-sales service all need continuous construction. The accumulated personnel and experience can in turn support subsequent model launches and business expansion. The return of these efforts is slower, but it is related to whether the enterprise can still maintain a stable operation foundation after product updates.
This direction of extending operational functions to local areas also appears in Europe. In May 2025, BYD announced that it will set up its European headquarters and R&D center in Budapest, Hungary, with planned functions covering sales and after-sales, vehicle certification testing, as well as localized model design and function development.
Placing part of the R&D and operational functions near the market helps shorten the distance between consumer feedback and product adjustment. Usage habits, road environments and service demands in different regions can more directly enter the enterprise's decision-making process. For automakers with expanding overseas business, this feedback capability is as important as manufacturing capability.
Thailand's practice therefore has more long-term reference value. The wider the overseas layout, the more the coordination between unified technical standards and reserved local operational space becomes a daily task.
Back to the off-line of the 100,000th vehicle, this factory has accumulated far richer content than just production volume. From putting products into the market, to letting local teams participate in manufacturing, service and operation, BYD's globalization is accumulating another dimension of strength.
After the 100,000th vehicle, the production volume is just one of the figures. Its value will gradually emerge as these teams participate in the operation of more models for a longer period of time.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Global Finance Review", Author: Ding Yi, Editor: Wei Fanxi, Published with authorization from 36Kr.