- BYD exec Stella Li described China as “the homeland for innovation” in the car industry.
- The company’s sales grew more than 40% globally last year thanks to its EVs and PHEVs.
- Its growth is made all the more impressive by the fact it doesn’t sell any vehicles in the US.
Over the past five years, BYD , the Chinese electric vehicle giant, has gone from an underdog to a full-fledged automotive juggernaut. In fact, it’s making legacy car brands look like they’re scrambling to catch up. While Tesla is arguably its biggest rival, BYD’s executive vice-president, Stella Li, seems to think there’s room for cooperation, at least when it comes to taking down the internal combustion engine cars.
“Our common enemy is the internal combustion engine car. We need to work together . . . to make the industry change,” she told the Financial Times in an interview.
Read: BYD Is Coming After Ford F-150 With A Full-Size Pickup
Of course, Li isn’t talking about teaming up with Tesla to co-develop a new vehicle. Instead, she believes that major EV manufacturers can work together to drive the industry forward as a whole.
During the interview, she also described the Chinese car market as “the homeland for innovation,” noting that the government will support foreign companies looking to expand into China, even amid rising trade tensions with the European Union and the United States.
“[The] Chinese government is more open, so maybe there is a lot of wrong perception here,” she added.
BYD’s Growing Pains and Political Pushback
While BYD’s sales continue to surge, it’s not without its challenges. The European Union has slapped tariffs on the company, along with other Chinese EV makers, and is pushing for Chinese companies to transfer intellectual property to European businesses in exchange for subsidies. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is actively encouraging local companies to limit their investments in foreign manufacturers.
The European Commission argues that China’s growing presence in the EU market is primarily fueled by a range of subsidies throughout the production process. These include discounted lithium and battery supplies from state-owned enterprises, tax breaks, favorable financing from state-controlled banks, and even cheap land to build factories.
Despite these issues, BYD is pushing ahead with its manufacturing plants in Hungary and Turkey, which will allow it to skirt the EU’s tariffs.
Li mentioned that she doesn’t get too caught up in politics, emphasizing that consumers will always choose the better product. She’s not worried about the possibility of being shut out of the US market, either. Clearly, BYD is confident in its continued growth and expects to overthrow the internal combustion engine sooner or later.
