U.S. and European politicians have raised alarms that their domestic auto industries could be destroyed by a wave of cheap Chinese electric vehicles. But so far, China’s top EV maker, BYD, has dramatically hiked export prices compared to what it charges at home rather than undercut foreign rivals.
The goal: to rake in hefty profit margins the automaker can’t get in China amid fierce competition.
In some foreign showrooms, BYD charges more than double — sometimes nearly triple — the price it gets for three key models in China, according to a Reuters review of the automaker’s pricing in five of its biggest export markets.