BYD Aims to Conquer Europe with New EV and Fast Charging
Chinese carmaker BYD announced its ambition to conquer the European market with a new compact electric model. The company aims to rival established continental brands with this latest offering and super-fast charging capabilities.
“You will see, starting from March or April, our registration numbers will jump” in Europe, Vice-President Stella Li told AFP in an interview. The company has invested significantly in research and development to introduce these new vehicles.
BYD seeks to challenge the dominance of Volkswagen, a key competitor, in Europe. BYD’s announcement comes at a time when the demand for electric vehicles is increasing.
This new EV is designed to achieve fast charging speeds, allowing drivers who charge the vehicle to add an average of 75 miles of range in just 15 minutes. This would make it a strong competitor to other cars on the market.
“It is obviously as important as it is winning new customers,” Li said. “We are committed to attracting new customers in Europe over the next few years.”
Li said the company more than doubled its sales in the first two months of 2023, from the same period the year before (2022) to 20,000 cars. That helped BYD overtake Tesla as the world’s top-selling EV maker in 2023.
The European Commission has approved a 9-billion-euro subsidy for Stellantis to make batteries for Stellantis’s EVs.
BYD executives have noted that BYD’s goals will not be affected by the European Commission subsidy. They are confident that with the release of the new car, BYD will be able to compete with the help of its strong sales and production team.
“We will be very committed, we will be very ambitious, working with any team that wants to win.” Stella Li remarked.
