BYD owners slam ‘unfair’ practice

A group of Build Your Dreams (BYD) owners lodged a complaint against the company with the government on Thursday, saying the Chinese automaker’s aggressive marketing campaign constitutes an unfair selling practice.
Accompanied by consumer protection officials, the BYD owners said they are facing difficulties accessing the electric car charging outlets, which Rever Automotive — the distributor of BYD cars in Thailand — said they could use free of charge for one year.
The free charging offer was extended to a group of BYD owners who claimed they were unfairly affected by the company’s aggressive marketing campaign, which saw several models suddenly offered with massive discounts, as much as 340,000 baht.
They said there were not enough charging stations available before pointing out that these stations were not open 24 hours a day and often had long queues when they were open.
According to the BYD owners, the company abused the government’s EV 3.0 scheme, which saw various incentives and tax breaks offered to consumers in an effort to promote the use of electric cars in the country.
Consumer protection officials urged the government to review the company’s car pricing structure and improve the accessibility of charging facilities.
After receiving the complaint on Thursday, PM’s Office Minister Jiraporn Sindhuprai said she would invite representatives from Rever Automotive to discuss the issue.
She said she would also ask the distributor to provide further details about the recall of almost 100,000 BYD EVs in China and address safety concerns that Thai owners may have.
According to Ms Jiraporn, the company said the recall will not affect Thai customers as the affected vehicles were not sold in Thailand.