BYD has built its 100,000th new energy vehicle at its plant in Rayong, Thailand, roughly two years after the facility opened in July 2024. The milestone vehicle was an ATTO 3, one of five models — alongside Dolphin, SEAL 5 DM-i, SEALION 5 DM-i and SEALION 6 DM-i — now rolling off the line with "Made in Thailand" certification.

The factory, BYD's first overseas passenger vehicle production base, took about 16 months from construction start to operation and carries a planned annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles. It covers stamping, welding, painting, final assembly and parts production. The first model off the line in 2024 was the Dolphin, which also happened to be BYD's 8 millionth new energy vehicle worldwide.

Localization numbers

According to BYD's disclosure, about 95% of the plant's workforce are Thai nationals and the local procurement ratio sits at roughly 50%. The company counts 266 local parts manufacturers and suppliers as partners; 125 of them produce materials and parts in Thailand, and more than 1,090 parts have obtained standards certification from the Thailand Automotive Institute.

Those supplier figures measure the plant's integration into Thailand's automotive supply chain, which BYD entered deliberately. Thailand has long served as Southeast Asia's vehicle production and export hub, and the system BYD joined is now accelerating toward electrification. Thailand Board of Investment data shows electrified vehicles — battery electric, plug-in hybrid and conventional hybrid — accounted for 55% of new car registrations in the first seven months of 2026.

The plant's second role is export. BYD Thailand has accumulated exports of more than 24,000 vehicles. In the first half of 2026, exports accounted for about 40% of output, shipped to ASEAN markets, South Asia, Australia and Europe. In August 2025, a Thai-built Dolphin went to Europe for the first time, extending a factory originally designed for Thailand and neighboring markets.

Exports also track Thai policy. Under the EV3 and EV3.5 incentive schemes, import preferences are tied to subsequent local production, and under a Board of Investment adjustment, each locally produced electric vehicle exported counts as 1.5 vehicles when meeting production obligations.

Share erosion in a growing market

The milestone arrives as BYD's grip on Thailand's battery electric segment weakens. Department of Land Transport data shows 67,184 new passenger BEVs registered in the first seven months of 2025, rising 88.2% to 126,439 in the same period of 2026. But BYD and Denza registrations stayed nearly flat: about 24,900 units in the first seven months of 2025 versus about 24,400 a year later.

Combined BEV share for BYD and Denza fell from 37.0% to 19.3% year over year, with Chery's brands just behind at 18.5%. In July alone, the top three registered passenger BEV brands were Geely, Chery and SAIC MG — BYD did not make the podium.

Price competition compounds the pressure. Thai dealer RÊVER's September 16–30 promotion cut 130,000 baht from both ATTO 3 variants, bringing the Premium to 669,900 baht and the Extended to 769,900 baht — discounts of roughly 16.3% and 14.4% from list prices.

BYD retains one clear stronghold: passenger plug-in hybrids, where it held a 46.1% registration share in the first seven months of 2026. Local production lets the company match delivery rhythms to demand and participate in the EV supply chain taking shape in Thailand — advantages the company now needs as first-mover margins narrow.

From production to operations

The Rayong base is also being used to transfer production know-how. Since late 2024 it has run a "Seed Talent Program" sending Thai team leaders and engineers to China for training across R&D, trial production and production launch. Graduates return to management roles and handle technical communication between Chinese and Thai teams, reducing reliance on expatriates.

Training extends downstream. In March 2026, Chengdu Industrial Vocational and Technical College and BYD Auto Thailand held a job fair for the third Thailand Program class, recruiting for after-sales centers in Bangkok covering NEV maintenance and troubleshooting.

This localization playbook has group-level weight. BYD's 2026 semi-annual report shows 792,000 vehicles exported in the first half of the year, up 67.8% year on year, with overseas revenue of about 181.3 billion yuan — 52.6% of total revenue, the first time overseas markets account for more than half. The company announced a European headquarters and R&D center in Budapest in May 2025.

What to watch next: whether BYD's Thai BEV share stabilizes as new model cycles land, how the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee's September 2026 in-principle agreement to restructure vehicle excise tax — tying incentives to local investment, procurement and employment — becomes binding policy, and whether the Rayong plant approaches its 150,000-unit capacity ceiling on the strength of exports.