The company aims to sell over 5,000 vehicles in the Kingdom this year.
Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD Co. Ltd. is planning a significant push into Saudi Arabia, just months after Tesla Inc. debuted in the Kingdom.
Following the launch of its first Saudi showroom in May 2024, BYD now operates three locations and plans to open seven more by the second half of 2026, Jerome Saigot, the company’s managing director for Saudi Arabia, said in a Bloomberg interview.
“Saudi [Arabia] is a complex market. You need to go fast. You need to think big. We are not here to stay at five or ten thousand cars a year,” Saigot said. He added, “The more Tesla communicates on marketing, the better it is for us.”
BYD officially entered the Saudi market in February 2024, unveiling a range of models, including the Han EV, Atto 3, Seal EV, Qin Plus, and Song Plus. The company aims to sell over 5,000 vehicles in the Kingdom this year.
EV adoption remains in the early stages in Saudi Arabia, accounting for just 1% of total car sales in 2024, according to PwC. Still, the country is moving quickly to localize the industry: it holds a majority stake in California-based Lucid Motors and is investing in its own EV manufacturing capabilities.
Tesla opened its first showroom in Riyadh in April, joining other global players such as BYD and Geely in seeking a foothold in the Gulf market. In May, CEO Elon Musk signaled interest in launching Tesla Robotaxis in the Kingdom after thanking Saudi officials for approving Starlink’s satellite internet for aviation and maritime use.
In equity markets, BYD’s U.S.-listed shares have surged more than 36% year-to-date, significantly outperforming Tesla, which is down 22% over the same period.
Ahead of Monday’s market open, BYDDF’s retail sentiment on Stocktwits was at ‘neutral,’ improving slightly from a week ago, while Tesla’s was ‘bearish.’
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.
For serious investors with a serious sense of humor.
