A nightmare for Tesla and VW

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Anyone who drives on the busy streets of Chinese metropolitan cities like Shanghai or Beijing will quickly see cars with the local automaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) brand logo being used instead of the once dominant European middle class and luxury class sedans. : build your dreams) is now dominating the street scene.

The development of the company, which was founded by Wang Chuanfu (57) in February 1995, is great. It started a quarter century ago with around 20 employees, just five years later BYD was already the market leader for rechargeable cell phone batteries in China. In 2003, Chuanfu diversified his company, originally founded as a battery supplier for Motorola and Nokia, and began developing electric cars.

Tesla took its place at the top

Shenzhen group currently employs about 290,000 people, has more than 30 industrial zones and more than 40 branches worldwide. BYD has recently become the largest automaker in China, dropping the VW group to second place after almost four decades of dominance. With over 4.1 million vehicles sold by the end of April 2023, BYD has also become a huge (electric) number worldwide, now replacing Tesla as the largest all-electric vehicle manufacturer.

What most people don’t know: BYD has also been available in Europe since 1998 – in Germany, Italy or France, for example. However, with almost no significant numbers. But that must change quickly now. BYD is using the Barcelona (E) auto show, which ended today, to bring the Chinese brand and its new Dolphin and Seal models closer to the Spanish public. While the Chinese are entering the Spanish market with two new mid-range vehicles, they are competing with the domestic brands Seat and Cupra, as well as their main brands VW and the Stellantis group, which has a wide product portfolio.

Model attack in Europe

Available from September in Spain, the 4.29-metre-long Dolphin is inexpensive with plenty of space, three different electric drives (95 hp/70 kW, 177 hp/130 kW and 204 hp/150 kW) and two different sizes of Batteries. and a nice hatchback. Packages for ranges up to 420 kilometers (44.9 and 60.4 kWh). The base model starts at less than 30,000 francs, but the 177 hp version can also be purchased for around 31,000 francs. The 4.80 meter long BYD Seal, also fully electric, competes one class higher against the VW ID.7 & Co. But in terms of engine power, the Chinese are in a sportier league with 313 hp (230 kW) or 530 hp (390 kW). Thanks to the 82.5 kWh battery, the rear-wheel drive has a range of up to 570 kilometers.

BYD is expanding its portfolio in Europe from three (Atto 3, Tang, Han) to five electric cars with Dolphin and Seal. And visually reminiscent of the Kia EV6, it has announced the next model for Europe with the Song L. If BYD pedals in Europe as well as at home, our street landscape will soon change and many more “dream cars” made in China will be driven on our European roads.

Source: Blick