In China. No word on if this will ever make it outside that market.
Never the less it’s a good achievement. Auto industry is continuing to grow there and going as close to majority EV as possible out the gate is a net win
China is the second largest market for the Corolla after North America (as of 2016 at least) [1]. So even if it only kills the Corolla in China, that’s a pretty big deal.
BYD’s success is in no small part due to substantial government subsidies.
We’re not talking about relatively small tax or CO2 incentives, but rather large upfront interest free loans with questionable expectations of repayment.
This meant that BYD could leapfrog the growth stage and invest directly into new large automated factories before even having found market fit.
I expect they’ll do well in smaller countries, but larger western countries with existing domestic car makers will impose large tarrifs to neutralise their unfair advantage.
At least in my LATAM country, BYD already has a hefty chunk of the electric car market. Most of our capital’s public transport buses are BYD as well. Maybe they target emerging economies
It could make it to lots of developing world markets, where BYD already has market share. So it won't just be china, but lots of markets that just aren't the USA and perhaps Western Europe or Japan.
My BYD Atto 3 is costing me A$155 a week, with a rebate equivalent to 35 weekly payments, and I'll run it largely for free via solar. My whole car and CTP registration is costing me the same as 83 litres of petrol a week. The novated lease FBT exemption is incredibly generous (excessively so - it's bad policy)
The BYD Seagull (cost about 17k AUD / 12k USD) didn't make it to Australia. There was some mention about safety standards. Hopefully this new model makes it further around the world,
The BYD Seal, BYD's Tesla 3 clone down to the recessed door handles, is available in Australia and selling like hotcakes, not least because at ~AU$50k it's $20k less than a $70k Tesla.
Never the less it’s a good achievement. Auto industry is continuing to grow there and going as close to majority EV as possible out the gate is a net win