BYD has opened its first store in Sri Lanka and introduced a new model in the country, having previously sold vehicles there through dealership stores.
BYD's first store and after-sales service center in Sri Lanka opened in Colombo on August 14, and the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker introduced the Sea Lion 6 hybrid to local consumers, according to a press release yesterday.
The Sealion 6 is known as the Song Plus DM-i in China and the new name is used in other overseas markets including Thailand and the Philippines.
The Sealion 6 is the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) model that BYD has released in Sri Lanka, and its fourth in the country.
The three previous BYD models available there were battery electric vehicles (BEVs), including the Dolphin, Sealion, and Atto 3. The Atto 3, called the Yuan Plus in China, is BYD's first global model.
BYD executives and local dealer partner John Keells CG Auto witnessed the opening of the first BYD store in Sri Lanka.
BYD signed a deal with John Keells at its Shenzhen headquarters in November last year, appointing the company as its exclusive dealer in Sri Lanka.
The newly opened BYD store is located in the center of Colombo and has display, sales and delivery functions.
The after-sales service center is equipped with professional tools and has an after-sales team certified by BYD headquarters, according to BYD.
BYD will bring more of its latest products and technologies to Sri Lanka to provide local consumers with more environmentally friendly mobility options, said Liu Xueliang, general manager of the NEV maker's Asia Pacific automotive sales division.
BYD is the world's largest NEV maker, selling 1,955,366 vehicles in the January-July period, up 28.83 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
