BYD, the Chinese car maker, is to take over direct control of its Irish operation later this year, The Irish Times understands, in a move that could pave the way for a big expansion of its dealer network and sales ambitions in Ireland.
The brand has been managed in Ireland by Motor Distributors Ltd (MDL) since 2023 and is the ninth bestselling new car brand so far this year, ahead of rivals like Renault, Nissan, Dacia and Peugeot. The marque currently holds a 3.5 per cent share of the Irish new car market, doubling its sales last year.
It is now expected to set up an Irish entity, under the auspices of its UK operation. There are no details as yet on how the current network will be affected.
Ireland will become the latest market where BYD has shifted from an independent local distributor to direct management, following similar moves in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg.
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It coincides with a big investment by the car maker in a manufacturing plant and research and development centre in Hungary.
Last July, it took control of its Swedish operations and earlier this year its local distributor in Belgium and Luxembourg, Inchcape, said it did not expect its distribution agreement to be renewed.
Across Europe, BYD has a sales network of 1,000 retailers. Industry sources say the takeover of Irish operations is linked to a desire to expand its current network of 11 dealerships in Ireland.
MDL, the O’Flaherty family-owned Irish automotive distribution group, also holds franchises for Mercedes-Benz and Xpeng, another Chinese brand. It also owns the MSL dealer network.
A spokesman for BYD Europe declined to comment on the changes in Ireland while a spokesman for MDL said it still had an active contract with BYD.
Since it entered the market in 2023, BYD has gone from one model, the Atto 3, to nine in its Irish line-up: five electric and four plug-in hybrids. These stretch from affordable small EV hatchbacks to the sleek Seal saloon and Sealion 7 SUV.
Founded in 1995 as a battery manufacturer, BYD has become the world’s sixth largest car maker, building more cars last year than Ford.
BYD also has a premium brand offshoot, Denza, originally created as a joint venture with Mercedes, though the German rival is no longer involved. The car giant has said it is bringing Denza to Europe and will make its way to Ireland, taking on long-term premium players like Audi and BMW.
The Chinese company’s founder, Wang Chuanfu, told a recent annual shareholder meeting that it wants to sell more cars globally than Toyota within five years.
That would require BYD more than doubling its current sales from about 4.5 million to meet Toyota’s annual average sales figure of more than nine million.
