In her elegant pastel blue two-piece suit and double-soled sneakers, Stella Li runs through the immense marble corridors of the BYD headquarters, so much so that her four assistants – although much more young people than their “boss” – are visibly struggling to keep up.
Mrs. Li has just given an interview to an American TV channel and is rushing towards her white and pearly black Denza D9 electric minivan specially equipped for her. “See you right away,” she tells us, explaining that she first had to welcome a French delegation who had come specially to convince BYD to participate in the Paris Motor Show next October. With two ultra-comfortable “business” seats in the rear, the D9 is the flagship model of one of the four brands of the BYD group and should appear on the European market later this year.
The Denza D9 is expected in Europe © PHOTO: BYD
Mrs. Li has just given an interview to an American TV channel and is rushing towards her white and pearly black Denza D9 electric minivan specially equipped for her. “See you right away,” she tells us, explaining that she first had to welcome a French delegation who had come specially to convince BYD to participate in the Paris Motor Show next October. With two ultra-comfortable “business” seats in the rear, the D9 is the flagship model of one of the four brands of the BYD group and should appear on the European market later this year.
The European future of the “Fangchengbao” is also being considered, while that of the “Yangwang” – flagships of the Chinese manufacturer’s fleet – is rather uncertain. However, it is this last brand which has made a lot of talk in recent months thanks to its incredible U8 model, a huge 4×4 weighing 3.5 tonnes and with a power of 1,197 hp, capable of floating and evolving in water – particularly in the event of flooding. Even if it never arrived on the old continent, the U8 proved to be quite a “comm stunt” for the BYD group, indicating to anyone who would listen that nothing seems to be able to stop its progress – Literally as figuratively.
The Yangwang U8 is the flagship of the Chinese manufacturer BYD. Marketing in Europe is unlikely. © PHOTO: BYD
The European future of the “Fangchengbao” is also being considered, while that of the “Yangwang” – flagships of the Chinese manufacturer’s fleet – is rather uncertain. However, it is this last brand which has made a lot of talk in recent months thanks to its incredible U8 model, a huge 4×4 weighing 3.5 tonnes and with a power of 1,197 hp, capable of floating and evolving in water – particularly in the event of flooding. Even if it never arrived on the old continent, the U8 proved to be quite a “comm stunt” for the BYD group, indicating to anyone who would listen that nothing seems to be able to stop its progress – Literally as figuratively.
This gargantuan appetite is not limited to automobiles. BYD is today one of the largest Chinese industrial groups: it produces not only cars, buses and batteries, but also monorails as well as all kinds of electronic components. During the COVID crisis and faced with the shortage of medical masks, the company also launched into this new niche. Since then, it has been the world leader in this sector. At present, BYD has more than 600,000 employees, including 90,000 engineers.
In the meantime, Stella Li has joined us and willingly lends herself to the little game of questions and answers, in a tone that will have surprised more than one…
Ms Li, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, believes that you are flooding the European market with subsidized cars and that this constitutes unfair competition. The German Kiel Institute for the World Economy recently calculated that BYD had already received 3.4 billion euros in direct public aid from Beijing. How do you react to these criticisms?
They are unfair because they are not factual. There are no facts to support them. China has implemented a vast subsidy program to boost the market, but these go directly to the end consumer.
Our market is ultra competitive, with over 300 car brands competing. This requires each company to be as efficient as possible, both in terms of supply chain management and controlling production costs – without forgetting, of course, the quality of design.
It is all this that allowed Chinese automakers to rise to the top places in terms of technology and price, and not unfair subsidies. In fact, when foreign automakers build a factory here, they sometimes receive more government subsidies than we do. This is particularly the case for a few brands that have established themselves in Shanghai.
The United States is investigating allegations that the Chinese government could stop all cars made by Chinese manufacturers with the press of a button. US President Joe Biden spoke of a “serious threat to national security” and asked the FBI to get to the bottom of this matter.
Do you really think it’s possible? This is a truly ridiculous accusation. If you’re worried, you’d better worry about your smartphone. He is always near you. It can know where you are at any time of the day.
They also fear that the Chinese government will use data recorded by Chinese car cameras for espionage operations…
Then again, you’d better worry about your cell phone. It is also equipped with cameras and follows you everywhere. This statement is truly ridiculous. I don’t understand why people would believe it.
This doesn’t concern you?
No, we have no plans to go to the US market, so why should I worry? This does not concern me.
The Chinese market is ultra competitive, with more than 300 car brands competing.
Stella Li
Co-founder and current number two of the Chinese company BYD
The development phase of your brand in Europe comes at a time when the 100% electric car market is experiencing a certain slowdown or, at least, stagnation.
This doesn’t worry me, because we not only produce fully electric cars, but also hybrids. This year, in addition to “full elec”, we will also market rechargeable hybrids in Europe (even if, initially, BYD positioned itself as a 100% electric brand on the Belux market, the latter will therefore also see soon the arrival of PHEV, editor’s note). These use our DM-i technology and the first model to launch will be the Seal U, followed next year by two or three additional models.
DM-i technology is, I believe, the best transition solution. Thanks to it, you will be able to travel at least 80 kilometers in full electric mode before switching to HEV (hybrid) mode. With a charged battery and a full tank, you will have a range of more than 1,000 kilometers. If you travel 50 kilometers a day and only take a longer trip once or twice a month, in a year you will only travel 0.6% of your kilometers using fossil fuel. In other words, you will drive 99.4% of your time fully electric, therefore with almost zero CO2 emissions.
The Seal U DM-i, equipped with a plug-in hybrid engine, should appear on the Luxembourg market. © PHOTO: BYD
But Europe will ban the sale of cars that are not completely emission-free from 2035…
The problem is that Europe does not yet have a well-developed infrastructure for electric cars. People are therefore afraid of finding themselves on the side of the road with an empty battery.
I am confident that in the next three to five years, the charging infrastructure will improve. People will then switch to electric cars. In the meantime, they are already getting used to it with plug-in hybrids. After that, the transition to fully electric driving will be easier. In China, 80% of people who own a plug-in hybrid car purchase an electric car for their next vehicle. I am sure it will be the same in Europe.
What is BYD’s strategy for the coming years?
For the next three to five years, it will be focused on international growth. BYD must become a global company. This means we won’t just sell cars internationally. We will anchor ourselves locally and also produce locally. We will decide, before the end of the year, where we will build three, or even four, factories – including one or two in Europe. Building cars in Europe costs more than in China, but we can partly offset this by bringing parts from our country. Nearly 70% of the components in our cars are manufactured by us.
I am convinced that in the next three to five years, the charging infrastructure will improve and people will then switch to electric cars
Stella Li
Co-founder and current number two of the Chinese company BYD
In China, you sell the Seagull compact electric city car for less than 9,000 euros. Will we see her one day on the old continent?
The “Seagull”, which is our smallest model, will certainly arrive in Europe next year, but not in its Chinese version. It will be a new model, intended for the European market and at a higher price, in particular due to different equipment. When people think of BYD, they should think of it as a premium brand synonymous with innovation and high technology. We are not positioning ourselves as yet another cheap brand that dumps prices, and we will not engage in a price war. The residual value of a car is very important to us. BYD has a long-term vision and we are not short-term.
Michael Shu said that BYD was targeting 10% market share in Europe by 2030. Are you more ambitious?
Certainly yes. We don’t have to wait until 2030. That’s too long for me!
