China’s electric vehicle leader, BYD, unveiled a more affordable version of its Qin Plus DM-i plug-in hybrid sedan on Monday. This move intensifies their strategy of aggressive pricing to maintain dominance in the world’s largest auto market.
The new model directly takes aim at popular gasoline sedans like Nissan’s Sylphy and Volkswagen’s Passat TDI. With a starting price of 79,800 yuan ($11,090) for the front-wheel drive version and 107,900 yuan ($16,340) for the all-wheel drive option, BYD undercuts its competitors significantly. Sales are expected to begin in China next month.
The company said that the Qin Plus DM-i is powered by an improved version of BYD’s Blade battery technology. The technology provides superior energy density at cell and pack levels, which helps reduce weight and improve vehicle range. The latest model also features an advanced pure electric chassis with doubled torsional stiffness, as well as a more efficient cooling and heating system for the battery to reduce charging time by up to 30%.
Founded by chemist Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen in 1995, BYD is now a global force in rechargeable batteries and electric vehicles. The firm has tentacles in power plants, solar panels, electronics, semiconductors and mining, but it’s its EV business that’s garnering most of the attention.
In the last few years, BYD has been pushing overseas, and it is now the most significant player after having seized market share in China from Tesla’s (TSLA.O) Model X in the fourth quarter of 2023. BYD sells cars in countries from the United Arab Emirates to Thailand and the U.K. Its cheaper EVs, which start around $30,000 in Europe compared to the more premium Model X, have helped it gain traction.
However, BYD faces a growing rivalry from a handful of Chinese EV startups that are taking advantage of lower costs to produce and market affordable vehicles. According to CNBC calculations, Nio, XPeng, and Li Auto have sold about 1.57 million electric cars this year, about half the number of the more established brands.
Analysts have said they expect the domestic competitors to continue to make inroads into the mainstream EV market in the coming years, even though many of them don’t yet have a presence in the U.S., which is unlikely to change in the near term due to tariffs and EV tax credit rules. Nevertheless, analysts say BYD will remain dominant in the Chinese EV market as it expands globally, with its overseas sales beating Tesla’s sales this year. The Shenzhen-based carmaker will sell more than 242,000 new energy passenger vehicles in overseas markets this year, according to CNBC estimates. That’s more than double the figure of Tesla. The numbers are even more impressive given that BYD is still not a significant player in the U.S., competing against Geely-owned companies such as Polestar.
