BYD can take Toyota’s crown without the US market, says top executive

{"text":[[{"start":8.55,"text":"BYD can unseat Toyota as the world’s biggest carmaker by sales without access to the US market, according to the executive spearheading the Chinese group’s global ambitions, suggesting it will intensify an aggressive European expansion."}],[{"start":23.35,"text":"Rivals were stunned last month after Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s founder and chief executive, announced a plan to wrestle the crown from the Japanese carmaker within five years through rapid advances in charging technology and explosive overseas growth."}],[{"start":38.8,"text":"The electric-car maker sold 4.5mn cars last year, far below Toyota’s 10.5mn, a total dependent on the Japanese company’s access to the lucrative US market and its continued sale of internal-combustion-engine models."}],[{"start":53.599999999999994,"text":"“I think he made this ambitious target [to achieve] with our own organic growth,” Stella Li, who heads BYD’s international operations, told the FT. “We don’t need the US market to achieve that.”"}],[{"start":65.05,"text":"Li also said the Shenzhen-based group could seize the title from Toyota, which has held it since 2020, without making an acquisition to drive sales."}],[{"start":74.6,"text":"Wang’s announcement was met with scepticism from within the car industry given BYD’s lack of access to the US market, the second biggest after China."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":83.5,"text":"High tariffs on EVs and restrictions on the use of Chinese software imposed by the Biden administration have prevented BYD from selling cars in the US. The company assembles heavy-duty trucks at a California plant and has sold more than 100 of the models in the US."}],[{"start":100.65,"text":"A lack of access to the US remains a hurdle for BYD during a period in which cut-throat competition and Beijing’s move to limit subsidies for EVs has hammered its sales in the once-booming Chinese market."}],[{"start":114.10000000000001,"text":"BYD’s first-half sales fell 16 per cent as the severe slowdown in its home market overshadowed the group’s rapid expansion into Europe, south-east Asia and Latin America."}],[{"start":125.9,"text":"Europe is prized by BYD as one of its most important overseas markets, where it can generate fatter margins on its EVs and plug-in hybrids than in China. Its share of the European market more than doubled to 2.8 per cent in May compared with a year earlier, as it leapfrogged Ford, Tesla and Nissan, according to European car industry group Acea."}],[{"start":147.8,"text":"Founded in 1995 by Wang, a former metallurgy professor, BYD has in recent years blazed a trail for Chinese carmakers overseas, betting that its pricing can undercut established European manufacturers."}],[{"start":161.5,"text":"BYD’s inroads into the European market and its advanced technology have prompted legacy carmakers to cut costs and partner with other Chinese manufacturers in an attempt to stay competitive. "}],[{"start":173.25,"text":"In a sign of how Chinese carmakers are looking outside their domestic market to drive sales, official figures on Tuesday showed that the country’s monthly car exports hit a record 1mn for the first time in June."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":185.15,"text":"Li’s contention that BYD can become the world’s largest carmaker by sales without acquisitions suggests that the company has cooled on either buying or investing in a struggling European carmaker."}],[{"start":197.95000000000002,"text":"Last year, French carmaker Renault rejected overtures from BYD about taking a stake, according to people familiar with the matter. BYD and Renault declined to comment on the approach."}],[{"start":209.3,"text":"One person close to BYD said that investing in a European carmaker held more appeal a year ago as a “short-cut” to securing access to manufacturing facilities and a supply chain on the continent."}],[{"start":221.75,"text":"Over the past year, BYD had ploughed investment into its new premium brand Denza, the person added, making a deal for a European competitor “too much of a disruption”."}],[{"start":231.9,"text":"BYD is betting that Denza can defy sceptics and make inroads into the premium market long dominated by established German players. Last week, the company unveiled its new Z electric supercar, one of Denza’s models, which will compete with the likes of Porsche 911 and have a starting price of £142,900 in the UK. "}],[{"start":254.3,"text":"“Just wait one more year and you’ll say we can do this successfully,” Li said, arguing that BYD’s “flash” charging technology would help the company crack a difficult market. "}],[{"start":264.1,"text":"The group is investing nearly €2bn to roll out 3,000 flash chargers in Europe by 2027, which the company says will allow Denza models to be 70 per cent charged in five minutes. "}],[{"start":277.3,"text":"Li said she would be “open-minded” if an opportunity arose to acquire a European premium brand, but added that she did not have a specific brand in mind and had not been approached by any potential target."}],[{"start":297.59999999999997,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784096713_3708.mp3"}