Chinese new energy vehicle maker BYD has launched in Argentina on Wednesday, expanding its presence in South America two months after starting local passenger vehicle production in Brazil.
The launch event, livestreamed on YouTube, was hosted by Audrey Li, the company’s VP of BYD America and Regional Managing Director in Latin America.
A pre-launch event was also held in late August, when BYD opened pre-sales. By late September, BYD had already exceeded its planned delivery capacity for 2025.
The company later revealed that it received over 1,500 orders before the official launch.
Deliveries are set to begin immediately after the debut.
The lineup in the South American country will include the compact Dolphin (known as Seagull in China), the Yuan Up (also known as Yuan Pro) and the Song Pro DM-i (also known as Sealion 5) — two fully electric vehicles and one plug-in hybrid model.
The three models will be available in two trims: GL and GS.
The GL trim is the entry-level version, while the GS trim offers more features and a higher level of equipment. The price difference between the two trims ranges from $1,000 to $2,000.
The vehicles will be priced from $22,990 to $36,990, with the cheapest model being the Dolphin Mini compact.
The Yuan Pro SUV will start at $29,000 and the hybrid Song Pro will be priced from $34,990.
Last month, country manager Deng Yuan noted that BYD plans to introduce a series of models and advance charging infrastructure development in Argentina.
“Five to six” additional models are set to launch in 2026, including the Shark pick-up.
BYD‘s Executive VP Stella Li.announced the expansion to Argentina last May.
The country’s government recently introduced a new policy to promote EV adoption.
Under this policy, hybrid and electric vehicles are exempt from the 35% import tax normally applied to imported cars.
It applies to vehicles that are priced below $16,000 before shipping, which includes BYD‘s model Dolphin.
The BYD Dolphin is the first model to be manufactured in BYD‘s first passenger vehicle factory in Latin America, located in Brazil.
The facility is expected to produce up to 150,000 vehicles annually and supply markets in the region, with full production planned for next year.
The Brazilian plant will also manufacture the plug-in hybrid Song Pro SUV and the King sedan.
The company announced in late April that the ‘BYD Shenzhen,’ previously the largest car carrier ship in the world, set sail for Brazil.
It transported 7,292 hybrid and electric vehicles aimed at its South American markets — which included Argentina.
