(Yicai Global) Nov. 10 -- BYD has made inroads into a number of foreign countries, including Australia, Thailand and Brazil, recently as surging demand for electric vehicles abroad presents huge opportunities for China’s most popular new energy vehicle maker.

BYD started to accept bookings for its electric sports utility vehicle, the Yuan Plus, in Thailand last month, the Shenzhen-based company said on Nov. 8. But the price tag is USD10,000 higher than in China, at THB1.2 million (USD32,500).

Thailand’s NEV market has grown quickly, thanks to reduced taxes on electric cars as well as a well-developed charging network, smart grid and other factors, it added.

BYD is building its first overseas plant in Thailand, which boasts the biggest auto market and car manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia, the firm said. Last month the automaker’s Thai unit signed deals with the WHA Industrial Park to purchase land and build the factory. The new facility should be up and running by 2024.

BYD, which sold a record 217,816 EVs in October, nearly two-and-a-half times from a year earlier, has also gradually entered the passenger car markets in Australia, Colombia, Brazil, Singapore, Costa Rica and other countries, it said.

The firm moved into Brazil last year and currently has nine stores in the South American country, it said in a separate announcement. It plans to expand to 45 cities before the end of the year and to open 100 stores by the end of next year.

The carmaker will invest CNY4.2 billion (USD579.2 million) to build a plant in Brazil, Wu Di, an analyst at China Post Securities, said in a recent research note.

The Yuan Plus debuted in Columbia last month, and is already on sale in Costa Rica, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic. The Yuan Plus accounted for 75 percent of the company’s EV exports in October at 7,130 units.

Editor: Kim Taylor