From MoneyWise, April 30:
Executives at the world's biggest electric vehicle brand have confirmed the existential fears of their counterparts at Toyota, Honda and other U.S. automakers: that amid such a frenzy of global competition, some manufacturers will inevitably fall by the wayside. And the present trajectory doesn't exactly bode well for homegrown legacy names.
As the Beijing Auto Show kicked off on April 24, the executive vice-president of BYD (OTC:BYDDF), Stella Li, told the BBC (1) matter-of-factly that "history suggests not all will survive" in the sector.
Li and her team, at the top of the game, appear to have little worry. Yes, BYD's domestic sales have started to dwindle (2) as rivals strategize with lower prices and local demand eases. But, the Shenzhen-based industry leader sees its ample opposition (3) as the ones who will die out now that Chinese President Xi Jinping has imposed controls (4) to prevent them from selling their product for less than what it costs to make it.
Confident in the driving experience and technology that BYD vehicles offer, Li assured reporters that despite failing to capture the coveted American market, the company — which last year overtook Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) (5) to become the top seller of EVs worldwide — is set up for continued success.
"We survive and are successful without the U.S. market today," she told the BBC, adding that demand from the rest of the world, led by Europe and Brazil, is at this point "much higher than what we can supply."
She also lauded the company's foundation as a producer of batteries and other smartphone components, which has provided an "ecosystem" of market potential. It was only in 2003 (6), nearly a decade after it was founded, that the brand made its foray into automotive with the acquisition of Xi'an Tsinchaun Auto Co. (Its first model, the gas-powered BYD F3, was released two years later.)
It now splits its focus between automaking and other pursuits, including providing EV batteries to competitors (7), along with manufacturing solar panels and smartphone components. One of its latest innovations, flash charging technology (8), is being incorporated into luxury models to overcome a key barrier to EV adoption: charging speeds....
....MUCH MORE
If interested see also:
April 28 ="Honda CEO Says Brand Has 'No Chance Against' Chinese Rivals After Seeing Factory"
But you knew that.*
December, 2023 - Western Legacy Automakers Probably Won't Be Long-Term Survivors
Because
their current business is being mandated and legislated out of
existence the Western marques, barring some serious breakthroughs in
small-scale hydrogen or methanol, will have to pivot to EV's.
And they won't be able to compete.
It almost appears that the gifting of the electric vehicle and solar industries to the Chinese was deliberate.
First up, from Electrical Engineering Times, December 6:
Experts See Rapid Rise of Chinese EV Makers...
And at Fortune, November 30, 2-23:
Elon Musk suggests Tesla and 9 Chinese companies will be the top 10 carmakersTesla CEO sees big things ahead for China's electric-vehicle makers...
