Finance
AUTOMOTIVE
BYD Is Winning the Global Race to Make Cheaper EVs (2024)
Malta, a tiny archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, might not seem worth the attention of a disruptive new car brand. The nation of just under 564,000 is known as a sunny tourist destination with limestone sea cliffs, ancient temples and lax regulation. About 7,200 new cars were registered in the country last year, approximately one-seventeenth the volume sold in a single day in the US. Yet the Maltese market isn’t too small for BYD Co., the Chinese electric-vehicle giant.
Last fall in Malta, BYD began selling the Atto 3, an all-electric compact crossover. Strip away the company’s futuristic logo, and it looks almost indistinguishable from other small, sporty SUVs. But inside it’s full of treats, including heated seats in vegan leather and a 360-degree rotating touchscreen. The 60-kilowatt-hour battery gives it a range of 260 miles, enough to circle Malta’s main island twice. And by European standards, it’s inexpensive, at about $28,000. It’s a novelty in Malta. But the real reason BYD is entering the European Union’s tiniest member state? The company’s happy place is emerging markets and countries with no domestic auto industry to defend: “You can basically describe them as a ‘chicken rib market,’ ” says Yu Zhang, the managing director of consulting firm AutoForesight in Shanghai. “All the chicken ribs added up together, it’s more than 10 million cars.”
(read more)
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender, China planned a 12,000-soldier march down Beijing’s Chang’an Jie—Eternal Peace Street—on Sept. 3. For President Xi Jinping, it was a chance to project an image of calm, order, and strength. Unfortunately for Xi, China’s financial markets are sending a completely different message.