GreenergyDaily

Jan. 28, 2026

BYD Co. is weighing options to expand in India, including local assembly to meet surging demand for the Chinese automaker's electric vehicles, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company is evaluating some form of local assembly in India and working on obtaining local safety and regulatory certifications for more models because of import quotas, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans have not been publicly disclosed.

Though India previously rejected BYD plans to build a full assembly plant in the country, the Chinese company is considering putting together semi-assembled parts — which would be cheaper and easier to clear in terms of regulatory approvals, the people said. Any manufacturing move would follow a visit by senior BYD executives, they added.

Strong demand is prompting the automaker to reassess ways to bring more cars in the country, the people said, adding that dealers were sitting on hundreds of bookings.

Diversifying beyond China has become increasingly important for BYD as growth slows at home amid reduced EV subsidies and intensifying competition. It's aiming to increase deliveries to markets outside China by nearly 25% this year.

BYD's India sales jumped about 88% last year to roughly 5,500 cars, straining its ability to operate under rules that cap imports of each fully built model at 2,500 units. That growth came despite import duties of up to 110% on fully built cars, driven by a price tag that's relatively lower than Tesla's. Using SKD assembly would slash tariffs to 30% from 70%.