If you asked the typical European or American about BYD a couple of years ago, only the biggest petrol-head or an astute follower of Warren Buffett’s portfolio could have given you a confident answer on what the company does.
It’s taken a brutal price war with Elon Musk and an ascension to the top of the Chinese car pyramid to change that. Now that it’s left competitors in a “state of shock,” BYD has become hard to ignore.
However, as BYD fights a declining share price, Europe’s automakers have a few reasons to be optimistic that they will fare better in a battle on home soil.
If countries weren’t afraid of Chinese EVs eating into sales of domestic vehicles, they wouldn’t be applying tariffs like the US’s 25% tariff on Chinese vehicles, a tariff they plan on increasing, by the way: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-lawmakers-want-biden-hike-tariffs-chinese-made-vehicles-2023-11-08/
So what? I never said anything about them being afraid. OTOH, using low low prices to wedge themselves in the market and kill competition is their common tactic.