BYD launches low-price plug-in hybrid, sparking price war in China
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The car starts at just over US$11,000, lower than bestselling petrol-powered cars like Volkswagen’s Lavida and Toyota’s Corolla.

The car starts at just over US$11,000, lower than bestselling petrol-powered cars like Volkswagen’s Lavida and Toyota’s Corolla

The world’s largest EV maker, BYD has been ramping up efforts to make its mass-market electric cars more affordable for Chinese consumers

BYD, the world’s largest electric-vehicle (EV) maker, has launched a new version of its plug-in hybrid model the Qin Plus DM-i, pricing it lower than bestselling petrol-powered cars like Volkswagen’s Lavida and Toyota’s Corolla.

The company, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, said on Monday that the new variant, known as the Glory Edition, aims to accelerate customers’ conversion from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to EVs amid a slowing economy.

The new version starts at 79,800 yuan (US$11,086), lower than the previous edition by 20,000 yuan or 20 per cent. Its battery-only driving range is 55 kilometres.

“The price will make petrol car assemblers tremble,” BYD said in a statement on the microblogging site Weibo. “The Glory Edition will become a benchmark for the Class-A [compact] car segment.”

The new edition is 15 per cent cheaper than the entry-level Lavida and nearly 40 per cent less than the basic Corolla.

  • 小莱卡
    30·
    8 months ago

    The price is absolutely ridiculous, chinese efficiency is getting absurd.

  • Trudge [Comrade]OP
    28·
    8 months ago

    Some good news for the environment amid all the gloom. Finally a hybrid cheaper than petrol not just from lifetime savings, but from the initial purchase. The all-electric edition is 109,800 yuan ($15,271 USD) so it’s not far behind either.

    • ☭ Comrade Pup Ivy 🇨🇺M
      17·
      8 months ago

      Too bad it will never come to market where I am… something something the evil commies something something … buy a big ford truck something something bateries do not work in the cold

  • Addfwyn
    20·
    8 months ago

    I just put an order in for my new BYD recently. It takes a while to pass all the pre-purchase inspections and stuff in my country, but hopefully should be ready within the next month or so.

    The test drive was really nice, one of the nicest cars I have driven (admittedly not many), has a bunch of interior bells and whisltes, and is remarkably affordable. I’ve heard nothing but positive reviews from people who have driven one here, which is surprising to me as people are often pretty nationalistic about their car brands in Japan.

  • redtea
    10·
    8 months ago

    Damn, is it time to read Warren Buffett’s book?