BYD’s rapid international rise
Most Americans haven’t heard of BYD beyond the headlines about tariffs over Chinese EV companies. But this fascinating look into the rise of BYD by Bloomberg showed that the company — which has built 3 million EVs in 2023 (for comparison, Tesla built 1.8 million) — is more than a product of subsidies from the Chinese government.
In only three years, BYD (which stands for “Build Your Dreams,” the company says) increased its annual sales in China by 15x. It’s exporting to about 95 markets and added 20 new ones in 2024.
Brazil is now BYD’s biggest international market, with 45,200 passenger vehicles sold to the market. This is followed by 20,800 in Thailand and 13,400 in Australia.
We’ve written in the past about how budget EV makers — including BYD — are threatening European carmakers: BYD’s most affordable model, its Seagull electric car, retails for under $10,000 in China and $21,500 in Europe, adding price pressure to local rivals. Just today, the embattled EV maker Lucid Group Inc. saw its stock plunge 15%, and a few other EV upstarts have filed for bankruptcy in recent months.
The speed of expansion has led to protectionist tariffs from the US and EU. When asked about her plans for the US markets by Bloomberg, CEO of BYD Americas Stella Li said that BYD does not have plans to export in the US. But she did hint on plans of localization, and BYD’s recent attempts at lifting profiles in Europe has offered some clues into what that might look like: the company is preparing to build its first European assembly plant in Hungary, ahead of the October 30 deadline for the EU to decide whether to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs.
In only three years, BYD (which stands for “Build Your Dreams,” the company says) increased its annual sales in China by 15x. It’s exporting to about 95 markets and added 20 new ones in 2024.
Brazil is now BYD’s biggest international market, with 45,200 passenger vehicles sold to the market. This is followed by 20,800 in Thailand and 13,400 in Australia.
We’ve written in the past about how budget EV makers — including BYD — are threatening European carmakers: BYD’s most affordable model, its Seagull electric car, retails for under $10,000 in China and $21,500 in Europe, adding price pressure to local rivals. Just today, the embattled EV maker Lucid Group Inc. saw its stock plunge 15%, and a few other EV upstarts have filed for bankruptcy in recent months.
The speed of expansion has led to protectionist tariffs from the US and EU. When asked about her plans for the US markets by Bloomberg, CEO of BYD Americas Stella Li said that BYD does not have plans to export in the US. But she did hint on plans of localization, and BYD’s recent attempts at lifting profiles in Europe has offered some clues into what that might look like: the company is preparing to build its first European assembly plant in Hungary, ahead of the October 30 deadline for the EU to decide whether to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs.
