A one-week-old Chinese BYD electric car exploded while it was charging outside a mall in Thailand.

The grey BYD Atto 3 was found by firefighters with smoke gushing out from under its bonnet while parked in front of a shopping centre in Udon Thani province on September 3 afternoon.

They doused the vehicle with extinguishers and disconnected its battery before spraying it with water.

The shocked car owner, 41, told traffic officers that he was charging the vehicle while his family was out shopping. When the battery reached 50 per cent, smoke began to billow from its bonnet.

He said the car, which had been bought only a week ago, had been charged both at home and at various stations.

Authorities believe the fire was triggered by a short circuit. The car has been taken to a service centre for a comprehensive inspection to determine its exact cause.

BYD and Rever Automotive, the distributor of BYD vehicles in Thailand, issued a statement on September 4 saying an engineering team had been formed to investigate the incident.

The statement read: 'We are waiting for the inspection results from the engineers. The car must be disassembled and thoroughly inspected in order to determine the root cause. We will inform everyone again of the findings.

'BYD and Reve are well aware of this incident. We are determined to find the truth, and we will not distort information for commercial gain. If it is found that the fire was caused by an abnormality from the vehicle, Reve will accept this fault and will compensate for the damages incurred. We will continue to investigate and find solutions from now on.'

BYD beat rival EV manufacturer Tesla in 2022 sales, with 1.86 million plug-in electric cars sold compared with the Elon Musk-owned company's 1.31 million.

The BYD Atto 3 is the fifth most registered EV model in Thailand in 2022, with a total of 312 units tallied. The most registered Tesla vehicle in the country was the Tesla Model Y at 228 units.

BYD is also targeting the emerging South American market and Europe.