BYD prices five models below 100,000 yuan

BYD Co. has priced five models below the 100,000 yuan (US$13,912) threshold after the Shenzhen-based electric vehicle giant started a new round of price war in the world's largest auto market last month.

BYD launched Wednesday a new version of its fully electric e2 hatchback with a lower starting price than its predecessor. The model now starts at 89,800 yuan, 12.7% lower than the previous version's price tag of 102,800 yuan.

The new e2 becomes BYD's fifth model available for less than the psychologically important threshold price of 100,000 yuan. Among the five BYD models, only the budget Seagull hatchback was sold below 100,000 yuan previously.

The 100,000 yuan level is critical in China's auto market as car models usually priced at between 50,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan are mostly dominated by petrol vehicles from joint ventures between Chinese and foreign automakers.

By pricing an electric vehicle car below that threshold, EV makers are widely believed by many industry analysts to use their high-tech but affordablemodels to squeeze legacy carmakers out of the low-end segment of the market.

Currently, consumers in China have become price sensitive amid as lowing economy and more affordable models are expected to draw more buyers to boost sales in China's highly competitive car market.

China is the world’s largest electric vehiclemarket,and about 40% of new cars hitting the road are now powered by batteries. But electric vehicle sales slowed in the opening months of this year, with competition intensifyingamid rising penetrationand excess capacity.

Sales of battery-powered electric vehicles rose 18.2% in the January-February period versus 20.8% for all of 2023, showed data from the China Passenger Car Association on March 8.

Together with plug-in hybrids, new energy vehicle sales jumped 37.5% in the two-month period, versus 36.2% for 2023. The result outpaced the overall passenger vehicle market's 16.3% growth.

BYD overtook Tesla Inc. to become the world's biggest electric car company in the final quarter of 2023 and ended Volkswagen AG's 15-year-run as top car seller in Chinalast year.

The automaker, which started as a manufacturer of mobile phone batteries in Shenzhen over 10 years ago, delivered 3.02 million pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids in 2023, an increase of 62.3% compared with a year earlier.

But most of BYD's sales were made in China, with exports accounting for only 8% of the total, or 242,765 units. But BYD's 2023 exports represented a 334% jump compared with a year ago.

After conquering its home market, the Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway-backed giant now needs to navigate new roads to maintain its momentum.

BYD is accelerating its go-global drive with footprint now extending to more than 70 countries with production facilities under construction in Thailand, Hungary, and Brazil.