BYD plans to have up to 100 UK sites by the end of 2025

BYD plans to widen its dealer focus to more regional areas, despite operating initially with a series of larger ‘pioneer partners’.

Tim Bryant, European training and customer experience manager for BYD Europe, says the Chinese-owned firm recognises ‘regional expertise’ and that buyers could expect a ‘regional roll-out to happen’.

BYD – which stands for Build Your Dreams – is entering the UK’s passenger car market with its new electric Atto 3 – an electric SUV with 260 miles of range.

It is initially rolling out at a number of sites operating through existing dealer partners, with Pendragon, Arnold Clark, Lookers and LSH Auto all announced as key retailers.

BYD has even established a Mayfair-based site under the Stratstone branding.

And its installation at the Lindwood Arnold Clark site will see it alongside a number of rival brands – ‘We will be unashamedly surrounded by competitors,’ Bryant said at a roundtable talk held at The Lakes by Yoo in Lechlade.

The manufacturer will also be taking a second-floor space at LSH Auto’s flagship Stockport Mercedes dealership.

These initial partners form what Bryant – who previously worked for Tesla – calls the ‘backbone of the UK’.

BYD will provide additional training for partners, too, with ‘the learning and expertise from one division’ transferred to other areas.

It plans to operate 20 to 30 showrooms by the end of 2023, building to between 90 and 100 locations by the end of 2025.

BYD has also partnered with other specialists to provide extra support, via a deal with Santander to help provide finance, Octopus to aid with salary sacrifice, Sixt to electrify business fleets and Shell to enable access to its Recharge network.

‘We very quickly recognised that even if you put a store in Manchester, that doesn’t mean you’ve covered the north’, Bryant added.

‘We’ve got to learn in terms of saying “London is the biggest area” but should we be there?’

Despite being a newcomer to the market, BYD already operates around 3,500 electric buses in the country and has already sold around 3.5 million cars worldwide.

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