BYD is one of the fastest-growing automakers on earth, having vastly expanded its reach – and sales – in a very short period of time. BYD has managed to do this by making and selling EVs that are both technologically advanced and dirt cheap to purchase, which has proven to be a winning combination, and one that has certainly gotten the attention of industry executives like Ford CEO Jim Farley. Now, BYD is claiming that it’s literal years ahead of the competition, which is also the case of its domestic counterparts.
In a recent interview, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu stated that Chinese EVs, in general, are three to five years ahead of the competition when it comes to not only technology, but also, their supply chain and products, overall, according to Reuters. BYD isn’t selling vehicles in places like the U.S. and Canada – which just imposed big tariffs on EVs coming from China last fall amid concerns over the potential national security threats they pose, not to mention the European Union adding a 17 percent levy to BYD’s own products in that region.
Despite this, China still managed to overtake Japan as the world’s largest auto exporter recently, and BYD continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Chuanfu addressed the topic of tariffs in an interview with Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, noting that such actions don’t stop consumers from buying “good products.” If nothing else, consumer approval is motivating the company to “overcome various difficulties,” he added.
After experiencing Chinese EVs himself during a recent trip to that country, Farley set out to create a skunkworks team tasked with developing a new, low-cost EV platform that can compete with those models. The Blue Oval is betting big on that effort, with Farley calling the first model riding on that platform – a mid-size pickup – a “game changer” recently.
Comments
Which is what you would expect for a country that is powered by cheap coal to generate electricity.
China has been focused on conquering the planet, while we have been focused on saving the planet. And now we have been lapped by the competition. The manufacturers can grouse all they want, without tariffs, China would annihilate the US auto industry.
Sorry, but no, this is nonsense. I see things all yhe time where Chinese EVs, many BYD, simply break in half or burn to the ground. They are not ahead, but rather showing a polished piece….They biuld cheap, sell cheap, and the products respond as cheap and dangerous.
Who would buy that ugly of a vehicle? I don’t care how cheap it is. Reminds me of ad for Yugo, cheap and ugly.