BYD responds to EU’s Chinese car probe

CHINESE electric vehicle manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) says it will stick to its growth plan for Europe and that it is “not worried” about French and Italian investigations into the so-called “flood of cheap Chinese EVs” broadly reported last week.

Speaking with Bloomberg reporters this week, BYD executive vice president, Stella Li, said the manufacturer will cooperate with the EU’s investigation into EVs exported to Europe from China, but aims to continue pushing for strong growth in the region.

“We are a publicly traded company that needs to be managed with transparency and open to sharing information,” she said.

“So, we don’t (need to) worry about any investigation going on in Europe”.

As reported by GoAuto last week, the European Union formally launched its investigation into EVs manufactured in China over concerns that subsidies granted by the state were unfairly pricing imported models below those produced and sold in the EU.

The 12-month probe could eventually lead to measures including the introduction of an import duty on Chinese-made cars.

Ms Li said BYD will share all information required by authorities to dispel any confusion about their product.

“(The growth of EVs) is a revolution. A lot of people don’t understand, they’re concerned, they’re worried,” she said.

“But once you share the data, the reality, I think they will see that there is nothing to be challenged.”

BYD has sold more than two million electrified cars globally this year (to the end of September), half of them battery electric. The figures place the Chinese manufacturer just short of Tesla in global terms as the largest producer of pure electric cars.

“We are not really interested in competing to see who is bigger,” explained Ms Li.

“We want Tesla to be very successful because the more (successful) they are, it will help educate people on electrification.”

Imports from China accounted for 20 per cent of Western Europe’s battery electric vehicle registrations in the first seven months of 2023 – some 224,254 units. SAIC-owned brands including MG and Polestar account for 87,431 of those sales, giving them an 8.2 per cent share of the overall market.

To the end of July, MG registered 118,610 vehicles in the region ahead of 21,560 for Polestar, 21,505 for Chery, 17,160 for Lynk & Co. and 4960 for BYD.

The data, supplied by Schmidt Data, further indicates that Chinese-made EVs are quickly growing their share in nearby markets. Chinese-sourced vehicles now account for 5.6 per cent of all sales in Sweden, 5.0 per cent in the UK, 4.6 per cent in the Netherlands, 4.2 per cent in Italy and 4.2 per cent in Norway.

With Bloomberg and Automotive News Europe.