BYD plans India EV launch with Atto 2 in 2026 despite market barriers

World’s largest electric car manufacturer, Build Your Dreams (BYD), a Chinese global high-tech firm specialising in Energy Vehicles (EV), batteries and rail transit, is failing in the Indian market.

Amidst the regulatory hardships brought about by high tariffs on vehicles as a result of the rejection of major investment proposals and extreme inspections of Chinese firms, the company remains optimistic about growing its market in India.

The executive vice president of the company, Ke Li, stated their intentions on designing a plan specifically to meet the Indian market requirements. Besides denying the new plant development rumours, BYD will not build india specific cars as this requires local manufacturing and guaranteed investments. 

For the global aluminium value-chain 2026 outlook, book our exclusive report “Global ALuminium Industry Outlook 2026"  

The Yuan Up, popularly known as BYD Atto 2, an electric SUV featuring a 410KM range, 176hp motor and 45.1-51.1 kWh ‘Blade’ batteries (an ultr-safe, cobalt-free, lithium iron phosphate battery technology), is thought to be the best fit for the upcoming growth in India.

The model aligns with the company’s ‘cool the earth by 1 degree' motto by reducing carbon emissions in India, with its e-platform 3.0, a highly integrated, efficient chassis architecture for next-gen EVs and has the interior made of vegan leather. 

Don't miss out- Buyers are looking for your products on our B2B platform

BYD saved close to 126 million tonnes of carbon emissions as of December 2025 with a 5-starGreen New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) rating for utilising the heat pump system to maximise range.

With testing Atto 2 models on Indian roads since July, BYD’s EV India launch is expected to launch the product in mid-2026, with a price ranging from INR 1.7-2.5 million (USD 18-28 thousand). The CKD kits for the EV are planned to be imported from China to Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, for its assembly. The model Atto 2 will be running against major giants like Curvv EV (Tata), Creta EV (Hyundai), and e Vitara (Maruti Suzuki) in the Indian market.