Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing visited the BYD electric vehicle (EV) headquarters in the Chinese city of Shenzhen on Sunday. His son, Aung Pyae Sone, imports the cars to Myanmar.
Gillian Li, country head of BYD Myanmar, greeted the military chief, who was shown the vehicle and battery manufacturing processes.
At least 671 BYD vehicles have been imported to Myanmar since 2021.
Car traders in Myanmar say three companies can sell BYDs: EV Power, Essential Motors and Prime Auto and Aung Pyae Sone has investments in two of them.
An industry insider said Min Aung Hlaing’s BYD visit was to bolster family business interests. Khin Thiri Thet Mon, Min Aung Hlaing’s daughter, controls imports of MG EVs to Myanmar.
A Yangon trader said: “His primary focus is on his family’s profits. He has always practiced nepotism. His son is making large sums importing BYD’s cars.”
Min Aung Hlaing was in China for the Greater Mekong summit in Kunming in his first visit to China – Myanmar’s largest trading partner – since the 2021 coup.
Since the coup, the junta has granted special privileges to EVs and their batteries, which are exempt from import taxes imposed on other items like fuel, cooking oil and medicines. Other imports require the approval of the junta-controlled Foreign Exchange Supervisory Committee.
BYD this year overtook Tesla as the world’s top-selling EV brand.
It reported third-quarter revenues of over US$28 billion, up 24 percent from last year, compared to Tesla’s $25 billion.
Aung Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon have amassed considerable personal wealth since Min Aung Hlaing became military chief in 2011, emerging as leading cronies in their early 40s.
EVs have been heavily promoted in the junta-controlled media, despite the economic hardship faced by most citizens.
Khin Thiri Thet Mon owns NPK Motors, which imports MGs and operates charging stations in Naypyidaw and other cities. The company said it had imported 542 EVs by May.
A car trader told The Irrawaddy the regime and its cronies are profiting from EV imports while failing to develop the infrastructure and provide adequate electricity to support the vehicles’ use in Myanmar.
He said the automobile sector is suffering because of the promotion of EVs because the junta has not issued import licenses for fuel-powered vehicles since the coup, citing a lack of foreign exchange.
