Science & Tech · Gadgets & EVs · 6 hrs ago
BYD drivers in South Korea face long waits for accident repairs
BYD drivers in South Korea are facing long waits after crashes because few service centers can handle accident repairs.
Of the company’s 21 service centers, only five can do bodywork and painting, and drivers in some regions may need to travel about 250 kilometres to reach one.
In the first half of the year, repairs to BYD cars took an average of 9.8 days, compared with 6.7 days for electric passenger cars overall.
Longer repairs also mean higher rental-car costs: BYD drivers rented cars for an average of 9.4 days, with average rental costs about twice those for domestic cars.
BYD’s six dealers manage sales and after-sales service, including mechanic training, while limited repair experience can make unusual faults harder to diagnose.
BYD electric cars had a property-damage loss ratio of 168.4% in the first half of the year, raising concern that insurance premiums could rise.
BYD says it is working with specialist repair firms and stocking parts to support repairs, while limited repair capacity at other imported electric-car brands, including Tesla, is also a concern.
BYD drivers in South Korea are facing long waits for accident repairs because only five of the company’s service centres can handle bodywork and painting.
For BYD passenger cars with claims settled in the first half of 2026, the average repair time was 9.8 days, compared with 6.7 days for electric passenger cars overall.
The five repair centres are in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon and Busan, leaving drivers in Jeonnam and Gwangju to travel about 250 kilometres to reach one.
The article attributes the limited repair capacity partly to BYD’s system of relying on six dealers to handle sales, after-sales service and mechanic training.
BYD said it also works with specialist accident-repair companies and keeps key maintenance and repair parts in stock.
- Who
- BYD passenger-car drivers in South Korea.
- What
- Accident repairs take an average of 9.8 days, longer than the electric passenger-car average of 6.7 days.
- When
- The figures cover BYD claims settled in the first half of 2026.
- Where
- South Korea; the five BYD centres able to handle accident repairs are in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon and Busan.
- Why
- The article says there are too few accident-repair centres and that BYD relies on dealers for service and mechanic training.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The average repair time for 373 BYD passenger-car accident claims settled during the period was 9.8 days.
A BYD owner posted a repair estimate in an online community showing labour costs higher than parts costs.
- Average BYD repair time
- 9.8 days
- Electric-car average repair time
- 6.7 days
- Accident-repair service centres
- 5 of BYD’s 21 service centres
- BYD passenger-car accident claims
- 373 claims settled in the first half of 2026
- Average BYD rental cost
- 1,076,000 won
1 source
What people are saying
BYD has been in the market for less than two years, so its infrastructure is lacking compared with established domestic carmakers, making it difficult to respond when problems arise in the field.
We provide services through a cooperative system with specialist accident-repair companies in addition to official service centres.
We secure and keep key maintenance and accident-repair parts in advance.