China's Top Electric Car Maker Targets Korea

China's No. 1 electric car maker BYD plans to start selling passenger cars in Korea.

A BYD Korea staffer said Monday, "We are in talks with headquarters to start selling EVs in Korea around next year."

BYD Korea has already conducted road tests and is hiring customer service, publicity and accounting staff here. The Chinese EV maker also opened YouTube and Facebook pages in Korean last month.

With more than W193 trillion in market capital, BYD is so far the only manufacturer in the world producing both EVs and rechargeable batteries (US$1=W1,292).

Kim Pil-soo at Daelim University said BYD's entry into the Korean market "shows it is confident about its cars in terms of both quality and price."

Industry watchers believe BYD will launch its flagship Han sedan in Korea first. The car is priced at around W52 million, which is cheaper than the Volvo Polestar 2 and Tesla Model 3.