Present at the Paris International Motor Show last fall, the BYD brand continues its offensive in the French market, which is now eligible for eco-subsidies. The Chinese manufacturer is committed to good value for money in its high-end electric models and for a lower price than similar models in France and Europe in the electric saloon segment.
BYD, the world’s third-biggest battery maker after China’s Ningde Times and South Korea’s LG, has also set up a distribution and after-sales network to reassure customers even before selling cars. The automaker plans to open more than 20 outlets with its partners by 2023, more than 100 by 2025. BYD not only intends to export cars to Europe, but also plans to set up factories there.
Twenty years ago, both Tesla and BYD were already dreaming of a new energy vehicle, a near-simultaneous project. Tesla has seen many doors open. In China, Shanghai offered Tesla land for its factory at a tenth of the market price, banks gave Tesla a low-interest loan of $18.5 billion, and on May 30 the state adviser and foreign minister Foreign Affairs Qin Gang personally met with Elon Musk in Beijing.
Twenty years later, BYD, once seen by Elon Musk as an unworthy rival to Tesla, is rebounding to become the world’s biggest seller of new energy vehicles, an equally courted automaker.
BYD continues its development and picks up the pace. At the end of May, its vehicle exports exceeded 10,000 units in the past seven months.
This content was produced with China Radio International. The BFMBUSINESS editorial team was not involved in the production of this content.
Source: BFM TV
