In Europe’s growing electric vehicle (EV) market, BYD is planning to outmatch its competitors such as Volkswagen, Stellantis, and especially Tesla by the year 2030. This ambitious plan was revealed by Michael Shu, the President of BYD Europe, during the Financial Times’ Future of the Car Summit.

Shu stated at the summit that the company plans to make massive investments in the European Union (EU) stating, “We are moving to the next stage to decide a huge investment in the EU, an investment that would be worth billions of euros.” The investment by BYD is dedicated to expanding manufacturing plants, establishing an extensive dealership network, and enforcing robust marketing campaigns across the EU.

Currently, Tesla is leading in the European EV market with its Tesla Model Y and Model 3 leading in the top ranks regarding sales for 2024. Interestingly, Tesla’s Model Y had made 19,946 units sold with the Model 3 making 8,120 units sold at second place while other European automakers were not even close to the top two places with third belonging to Peugeot’s e-208 EV at 5,319 units sold back in February according to EV-Volumes. 

As for BYD, its strategy for the European EV market also involves its Seagull model being priced at less than €20,000 (around $21,639). As the Seagull comes at an affordable price point with attractive features that stand out from a majority of EVs in the global EV market based solely on its price, the company’s price point offer to the European EV market will certainly undercut its competitors. Furthermore, BYD aims to triple its market share by 2025, leveraging its technological prowess and efficient battery supply chains.

Nonetheless, BYD will face one major obstacle that stands in its way with the European Commission currently investigating allegations of anti-competitive subsidies benefiting Chinese automakers, including BYD. One of the potential outcomes of this investigation could lead to increasing tariffs on imported Chinese EVs. Notably, the U.S. has already implemented new tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100% to protect the interests of the U.S. EV market. European automakers have stated the same with concerns of a disadvantage against competitive Chinese EVs in their market. 

Despite these concerns, BYD is aiming to circumvent potential tariffs and logistical hurdles associated with importing from China through localization efforts. This includes the company’s plan to build a new manufacturing plant in Hungary that will start production next year. 

With BYD facing recent setbacks, the company is remaining steadfast in its pursuit to claim the top of the European EV market. With the competition being back and forth between BYD and Tesla, the EV industry will observe closely to see which automaker takes the leading position in Europe’s EV market. 

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