China's BYD is focusing on emerging markets amid Western policy uncertainties
The EV maker wants to reduce reliance on exports from China and avoid potential trade barriers.
Following the recent roadblocks encountered in the US and Europe, China's BYD, the world's leading EV automaker, is planning to shift its EV production to emerging markets with promising growth potential.
The Tesla rival is adopting a two-pronged approach to penetrate emerging markets. First, it wants to invest $1.3 billion to build an EV factory in Indonesia, and then increase the number of its stores in Singapore and the Philippines. That way, it can reduce reliance on exports from China and avoid potential trade barriers.
It plans to expand its production line in Thailand, which once fully operational, would serve the rest of Southeast Asia with a potential revenue of $80 billion per year. Previously, the company had built factories in countries like Thailand, Brazil, Indonesia, Hungary, and Uzbekistan, regions without strong domestic auto industries.
