BYD will be with Sri Lanka, a key market for the company in South Asia, in its path to transit to green energy, BYD Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division General Manager Liu Xueliang said.
“The path to green technology is global and innovation is the name of the game,” Xueliang told a gathering in Colombo last week on the company’s partnership with John Keels CG Auto (Pvt) Limited the authorised distributor of BYD passenger vehicles, parts and services and its journey in Sri Lanka.
He said that while the scale of business in Sri Lanka is not on the same level of other markets BYD has entered in the region, Investment in the energy sector is a key avenue for growth the former Ambassador said adding that Sri Lanka could explore renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar power, in collaboration with Russia. Vietnam recently signed a 1,000-megawatt wind power agreement, which could serve as a model for Sri Lanka. Additionally, bilateral meetings between Russian and Sri Lankan energy officials indicate progress toward future collaboration.
Efforts must also be made he said to translate policy discussions into practical projects. For instance, Sri Lanka has been deliberating on developing an atomic energy plant for over six years, yet despite a promising proposal from Russia’s ROSATOM, no action has been taken. “Another key area is skilled labour. Sri Lanka has a quota of 5,000 workers for the Russian market, especially in garments and services, but we’ve only utilized a very few out of the quota.
Sri Lanka’s size means that it can still serve as a global case study for positive impact of electric mobility on a national level.
BYD and John Keells CG Auto will be expanding their presence in Sri Lanka to make new energy vehicles (NEV) more accessible to customers while catering to a broad range of the market from entry level models to the luxury segment.
John Keells Group Chairman Krishan Balendra said the market for NEVs is good and added that already it has reservations for 5,000 BYD vehicles. “All models have done well and more new ones would be introduced to Sri Lanka soon,” Balendra said, adding that the company will be rolling out more charging centres soon to facilitate the growth of the market for BYD vehicles.
BYD is the No 1 electric vehicle (EV) brand in the globe with sales reaching the peak recently. BYD EV sales topped Tesla in Europe for the first time.
BYD recorded a notable growth in its market share in Sri Lanka’s brand new vehicle segment in April this year. Leading the demand are BYD Sealion 6, DiPilot and BYD ATTO 3.
John Keells CG Auto plans to introduce DENZA-BYD Group’s premium brand that integrates cutting edge NEV technology with refined luxury.
An MoU in this regard was inked between the two companies to reinforce the shared ambition to expand the reach of advanced NEV solutions in Sri Lanka.
