Editorial: BYD, a Chinese carmaker once dismissed by Tesla’s CEO, claims to have outpaced western rivals with charging tech that’s as fast as filling petrol engines
www.theguardian.com
Tesla’s boss, Elon Musk, once thought the idea that China’s BYD could compete with his company was
laughable. In 2011, he smugly
dismissed the Chinese carmaker as unimpressive, its products unattractive and its technology “not very strong”. He’s not laughing now – and not just because Tesla’s stock has plummeted amid a
boycott by motorists protesting against his embrace of
far-right politics. More pressingly, Mr Musk, like other western carmakers, has been
outpaced by BYD.
Last week, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer
unveiled new charging technology that, it says, is capable of delivering 400km (249 miles) of driving range in just five minutes – as quick as filling up a petrol car. The system, released next month, will be fitted in two EVs, priced from 270,000 yuan (£29,000) – comparable to Tesla’s most affordable model in China. Yet BYD claims to
quadruple Tesla’s kilometres-per-minute charging rate. Technological supremacy at a competitive price may help to explain why
BYD now sells seven times as many cars in China as
Tesla.
A lack of fast-charging
infrastructure may
delay BYD’s progress in the west. But that shouldn’t diminish the scale of China’s technological advance. It was only in 2015 that Beijing launched its
Made in China 2025 plan, targeting 10 strategic industries – including EVs – for rapid indigenous development. China’s approach follows a familiar playbook. Just as the
US once did, China shifted from exporting raw materials to becoming a manufacturing powerhouse by protecting domestic industries, acquiring foreign technology – sometimes dubiously – and prioritising exports. Taking cues from history, Beijing has used tariffs, subsidies and state investment to dominate industries from steel and electronics to EVs.
theonion.com
