BYD and John Keells Group Forge Partnership for Passenger Vehicle Business in Sri Lanka
BYD, the world’s leading manufacturer of new energy vehicles, announced its collaboration with Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerate John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH), to provide cutting edge new energy vehicles (NEV) to the Sri Lankan market.
The signing ceremony took place at BYD’s global headquarters in Shenzhen, attended by Mr. Liu Xueliang, General Manager of BYD Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division, and Mr. Krishan Balendra, Chairperson of the John Keells Group.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Liu Xueliang expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: “We are delighted to have our Sri Lanka partner JKH to our Global Headquarters. In the past 28 years, BYD has been unwavering in its commitment to technological innovations and its green dream. We’re striving to align diverse lifestyles with eco-conscious mobility choices globally. This collaboration enables us to offer a range of advanced, eco-friendly passenger vehicles in Sri Lanka, furthering our mission to integrate eco-conscious with diverse lifestyles, and making ‘electric vehicle’ the ‘essential vehicle’ in people’s daily lives.”
Echoing the sentiment and emphasizing their commitment to sustainability, John Keells Group Chairperson Krishan Balendra said: “ESG is firmly entrenched in our business process, workplace culture and community outreach. With our commitment to achieving a sustainable future for the country, we look forward to the exciting opportunities the partnership with BYD holds. Through this partnership, we will bring advanced NEV models to Sri Lanka, letting our people experience the world’s leading technologies of NEV and contribute to an eco-friendly and sustainable Sri Lanka.”
After decades of perseverance in innovation and technology, BYD has achieved remarkable expertise in core technologies of the entire industrial chain of new energy vehicles, including batteries, electric motors, and electronic controllers. BYD also stands out as the sole producer of New Energy Vehicles globally that has independently developed its powertrain systems, power batteries, drive motors and motor controller systems.
Currently, BYD’s new energy vehicles span 6 continents, over 70 countries and regions, and more than 400 cities. In 2022 alone, BYD sold more than 1.86 million new energy vehicles globally. Notably, on 9th August 2023, BYD became the world’s first automaker to roll off its 5 millionth NEV from the production line.
About JKH
JKH, is the largest conglomerate listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, operating with over 70 companies in 7 diverse industry sectors. With a history of over 150 years, John Keells Group provides careers to over 15,000 persons and has been ranked as Sri Lanka’s ‘Most Respected Entity’ for the last 18 Years by LMD magazine. JKH was ranked first for the third consecutive year in the ‘Transparency in Corporate Reporting Assessment’ by Transparency International Sri Lanka. Whilst being a full member of the World Economic Forum and a participant of the UN Global Compact, JKH drives its CSR vision of “Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow” through John Keells Foundation and through the social entrepreneurship initiative, ‘Plasticcycle’, which is a catalyst in significantly reducing plastic pollution in Sri Lanka.
