Highway to BYD headquarters located in the Long River area outside Shenzhen, China. Nine out of 10 p..

Highway to BYD headquarters located in the Long River area outside Shenzhen, China. Nine out of 10 passing vehicles were equipped with green license plates, meaning electric vehicles. Most of them are Chinese-branded vehicles such as BYD, Nio, and Shanghai. As of last year, about 34% of all newly registered vehicles in China are pure electric vehicles, and even these are dominated by Chinese-branded vehicles.

China’s huge domestic market is like a testbed for verifying Chinese technology. Chinese electric vehicles have begun to penetrate overseas markets by recognizing their technological prowess in the country and securing cost competitiveness through mass production.

BYD electric vehicle production plant located in Shenshan, Guangdong Province, China, visited on the 20th. As the world’s No. 1 electric vehicle sales company, BYD is manufacturing an electric sedan “Seal” by applying state-of-the-art “Cell to Body” technology. CTB is a technology that removes both modules and packs and installs the produced battery cells in the vehicle as they are. Only BYD, Tesla, and Xiaomi have applied CTB technology to mass-produced cars. It is compared to the production method in which most electric vehicle manufacturers bind battery cells into ‘modules’ and regroup these modules into ‘pack’ and mount them on the body.

If CTB technology is applied in electric vehicle production like BYD, more battery cells can be inserted, increasing the mileage. BYD SEAL is certified to have a driving distance of 570 kilometers per charge in Europe. Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, which is equipped with an NCM battery, has a driving range of 498 kilometers in Europe.

The automation rate of BYD production lines is also drawing attention. Four Robo-Arms lift and mount wheels, and there are also 10 vehicles that can be produced by mixing with the application of this automation process. A factory official said, “We can replace the production model within 8 minutes by operating the process system.”

In addition, BYD factories have automated up to 25% of the design lines, which are considered the most difficult to automate due to the need for precise work. The figure is more than double the automation rate of Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan plant’s chairman line (around 10 percent).

The automation rate of the ‘Findrims’ Chongqing plant, which produces BYD blade batteries, which are the basis of CTB technology, is 100%. In fact, more than 100 robot arms were in charge of the entire process from battery cutting to cover bonding at the factory line visited on the 21st. For the second plant completed in 2021, it boasts a production rate of one every three seconds.

BYD, which has manufacturing technology competitiveness, will land in Korea in January next year. It predicted a head-to-head battle in the Korean market with premium electric cars worth 30 million won, not low-priced electric cars.

The electric vehicles that will debut in BYD Korea are expected to include the sedan “Seal,” the sport utility vehicle “Ato3,” and the compact hatchback “Dolphin.” Currently, BYD sells electric vehicles in Japan from early 30 million won to late 40 million won. It then plans to launch new models every year to penetrate the Korean niche market.

BYD has also decided to set up nationwide exhibition halls such as Seoul, Busan, and Jeju Island to launch massive EV marketing.

Other Chinese electric vehicle brands with a wide range of selling prices are also looking to enter Korea. Zicker, which is expected to be released in Korea as early as this year, is one of the most aggressive Chinese finished car brands targeting overseas markets. Last year, Sweden and the Netherlands, and this year, Germany and six other European countries were established. Last year’s sales totaled 118,000 units, which is not a small number in that it is a premium electric vehicle with a sales price of at least 40 million won to up to 90 million won in China. In September, Zicker appointed Kim Nam-ho, a Korean representative with experience working in imported cars such as BMW and Polestar.

Lip Motor is an electric vehicle brand that is targeting the European market with low-cost electric vehicles, contrary to Zicker. The lowest-priced T03 is sold in China at about 12.7 million won. Earlier this year, China’s Lip Motor headquarters established Lip Motor International, a global sales joint venture with Stellantis. As Stellantis has already entered the domestic market, it is easy to tap into the domestic market using Stellantis’ sales network.