(Yicai Global) Aug. 17 -- Chinese electric carmaker BYD Auto has landed its biggest ever deal in Thailand after agreeing to sell 1,000 units to solar panel maker Rizen Energy the same day it delivered on its previous largest deal in the country.

Shenzhen-based BYD shipped 101 E6 vehicles to Bangkok yesterday before signing the deal to ship 10 times more, PE Daily reported. The cars from the latest order will mostly be used for VIP taxis and ride-hailing businesses, the report added.

The completed delivery of 101 cars makes BYD the biggest electric vehicle producer with cars on Thai roads, with a 50 percent market share. The nation has been slow to adapt to electric cars, and only has around 85,000 hybrids and plug-in hybrids in operation, according to data from Consultancy.asia.

BYD sets itself out from the crowd by independently researching and developing batteries, which are the most important technology in new-energy vehicles, Risen's Managing Director Apichat Leenutaphong said, adding that its Chinese partner has tens of thousands of patents for power cells.

BYD made its Thailand debut in December 2012, when it became the go-to car for the Southeast Asian nation's largest power company the Metropolitan Electricity Authority. In 2015, it sold K9 electric buses and E6 cars to tech and commerce giant Loxley Group as the country sought to make public transport greener.

Editor: James Boynton