<
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-10-16/electric-car-brand-byd-leads-race-to-make-cheap-evs-despite-tariffs?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTczMDMyMzQ1MCwiZXhwIjoxNzMwOTI4MjUwLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTTEdWT0hUMEcxS1cwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIyQUU2NkEzRDc2MzA0MkRBQjgwMzI1NDBBOTQ4OTAyOCJ9.iIbX2ekxfHfwuSe9igwqE2VMb7zlYP0fkVW9yVGVjyY>
"Malta, a tiny archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, might not seem worth the
attention of a disruptive new car brand. The nation of just under 564,000 is
known as a sunny tourist destination with limestone sea cliffs, ancient temples
and lax regulation. About 7,200 new cars were registered in the country last
year, approximately one-seventeenth the volume sold in a single day in the US.
Yet the Maltese market isn’t too small for BYD Co., the Chinese
electric-vehicle giant.
Last fall in Malta, BYD began selling the Atto 3, an all-electric compact
crossover. Strip away the company’s futuristic logo, and it looks almost
indistinguishable from other small, sporty SUVs. But inside it’s full of
treats, including heated seats in vegan leather and a 360-degree rotating
touchscreen. The 60-kilowatt-hour battery gives it a range of 260 miles, enough
to circle Malta’s main island twice. And by European standards, it’s
inexpensive, at about $28,000. It’s a novelty in Malta. But the real reason BYD
is entering the European Union’s tiniest member state? The company’s happy
place is emerging markets and countries with no domestic auto industry to
defend: “You can basically describe them as a ‘chicken rib market,’ ” says Yu
Zhang, the managing director of consulting firm AutoForesight in Shanghai. “All
the chicken ribs added up together, it’s more than 10 million cars.”
After increasing its annual sales in China 15 times over, to 3 million cars in
only three years, BYD is now exporting to roughly 95 markets, including 20 new
ones this year. The company is building, has recently opened or has announced
plans for assembly plants outside China in 10 countries on three continents.
The speed and scope of this expansion have caught the global auto industry off
guard and triggered protectionist tariffs in the US and EU, where policymakers
fear Chinese players such as BYD will, in the words of Elon Musk, “demolish”
their domestic automakers."
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/276-regenerative-city/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
