BYD’s cheapest electric car, the Seagull EV, starts at under $10,000 (69,800 yuan) in China. Its affordable electric and hybrid models are squeezing gas-powered vehicles out of China’s auto market, especially from foreign automakers.
Tesla, which still holds a commanding lead (48% share in July) in the US EV market, has yet to break the $30,000 threshold.
BYD has no plans to enter the US passenger vehicle market (it already sells electric buses), the company’s North American CEO Stella Li said.
On a related tangent, anyone know if Chinese cars are able to meet American safety standards? I know those sold in Europe must meet those standards but I don’t know if they must be modified in any way to achieve such or if they readily meet them otherwise.
My understanding is that they have to be homologated to some degree to meet US standards. I imagine it’s possible that might add something to the cost of the car.
But I think the bigger obstacle to a car like the Seagull entering the U.S. market is the vehicle size. The tiny “city car” segment (the A-segment in European markets) is miniscule in the U.S. market. I mean, it’s not huge in Europe either - roughly 7-8% over there - but it’s less than 1% here. Global automakers have long known how to make inexpensive small cars with incredible fuel economy for a long time (hello, Toyota Aygo) - they just don’t sell them here, because we won’t buy cars that small.
So I don’t think the Seagull is ever going to come to the U.S. market. I think the smallest would be the Dolphin, which is a European B-segment subcompact. But that car costs a little more than $14K in China, so doubling the cost with a 100% tariff would get you just under $30K here. For a subcompact with range of under 200 miles, that’s not going to be very competitive at that price.
He got away from the GM lemon. It kept overheating. He was 33 years old. Dad is from Ireland. He loved a stick. European driving.
The MG was fun.
Dad would make a third lane every time he wanted to go left. In those days there were no left lanes for turning. No green arrows. Dad was over the yellow line endlessly at lights.
