Ayala partners with Chinese EV brand BYD

MANILA, Philippines — Conglomerate Ayala Corp. has partnered with global electric vehicle brand BYD, making it the official distributor of BYD vehicles in the Philippines.

Ayala Corp. said in disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange it has executed a distribution agreement with BYD, which grants it the right to distribute and sell BYD passenger electric vehicles (EVs) in the Philippines, and appoint dealers for the purpose of selling said EVs.

“As distributor, Ayala Corp. will oversee the sale of BYD’s passenger vehicles through a dealer network, drive the expansion of the brand’s footprint in the country, and support customers’ aftersales requirements through the provision of parts and technical support, both to new buyers as well as existing BYD owners,” the company said.

AC Motors chief executive officer Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala told reporters in a briefing yesterday that the partnership is in line with the Ayala Group’s goal of being at the forefront of the shift to electric mobility in the country amid the rapid adoption of EV globally in recent years.

“We at AC Motors would like to be at the forefront of this shift. Our goal is to catalyze electric mobility in the Philippines and progress to become the leading EV platform in the country in both market share and scale and utilization of our ecosystem,” Zobel said.

“The Ayala portfolio is uniquely positioned to provide long term value to customers in this emerging ecosystem. Through our capabilities and efficient energy management of our strategic real estate assets for charging infrastructure or existing automotive distribution and dealership network and capabilities in digital connectivity and financing, we believe we are in a position to provide value to customers,” he added.

He pointed out that the company believes that EVs would account for 10 to 20 percent of vehicles sold in the market in the next five or six years.

“We want to take a significant market share on that,” he said.

For his part, BYD Philippines and Singapore managing director James Ng expressed optimism for the partnership with the Ayala Group.

“BYD looks forward to working hand-in-hand with Ayala to promote the development of the new energy vehicles industry in the Philippines. Together, we create a greener, more sustainable and brighter future, as we embark on this exciting journey,” Ng said.

BYD has an expansive line-up of both passenger and commercial vehicles at competitive price points, allowing the vehicles to be deployed at a larger scale.

Its operations as an automotive manufacturer are also fully integrated, with capabilities not only in designing and assembling the final vehicles, but even in battery technology, electric powertrain development, and semiconductors.

In addition to the automotive space, BYD also has investments in rail transit, renewable energy, and battery storage.

Ayala said it will offer six BYD models across BYD dealerships in the country particularly the luxury executive sedan, BYD Han; the spacious 7-seater family SUV, BYD Tang; and the compact hatchback, BYD Dolphin.

By the end of this year, the Ayala Group will also introduce the BYD ATTO 3, a highly awarded EV model that is globally hailed for its outstanding design, comfort, quality, practicality, and performance.

With BYD’s leading presence globally in EVs and given its recent success in other Southeast Asian markets, AC Motors aspire to build the same level of respect and relevance for the brand in the Philippines.