Buying a new car is one of the biggest outlays a family must face. Currently, we could say that there are no cars under 10,000 euros. Even the Dacia Sandero, the best-seller that is one of the cheapest models on the market, exceeds this figure. Not to mention electric cars, which are more expensive than their gasoline equivalents. However, to help the expansion of these zero-emission models, whose price was a deterrent for consumers – in addition to the expensive charging network – some brands have begun to lower rates. And soon this price war could reach internal combustion cars, although this remains to be seen.
For now, the first battle is being fought in China, where the automobile giant BYD has brought down rates with the launch of two new plug-in hybrid models for 79,800 yuan (about 10,300 euros). These are the Qin (Honor Edition) and Destroyer 05, whose pure electric version costs between 109,800 and 139,800 yuan (between 14,164 and 18,034 euros), the economic news portal Yicai has reported.
The new Qin hybrid costs 20% less than its predecessor. This represents a reduction in rates even compared to the most affordable internal combustion vehicles in the Chinese market, which have an average price of about 94,000 yuan (about 12,100 euros), notes the aforementioned media.
“The price will make gasoline car manufacturers tremble,” BYD said in a message on the social network Weibo – equivalent to X, censored in the Asian country – cited by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post.
According to industry experts, BYD has an advantage over its rivals when it comes to setting rates thanks to its technologies and its control of the industrial chain: the company, for example, manufactures 75% of the parts for its Seal model.
In addition, its production costs are 15% lower than the Model 3 that Tesla manufactures in Shanghai and 35% lower than the equivalent models manufactured by Volkswagen in Europe.
This Monday, Yicai cited executives from two of the most important names in the Asian country’s automotive sector, Xpeng and Geely, who warn of “particularly brutal” competition in 2024 that could become “a first round of K.O.” for Chinese firms in this industry.
BYD recently announced an investment plan of 100 billion yuan (12,902 million euros) and the launch of a series of models in the premium and luxury segment this year, after having launched the Yangwang U8 last year, reminiscent of the Range Rover, with a price of 1.1 million yuan (141,917 euros).
The automaker increased its sales by 62% year-on-year in 2023, and at the beginning of this year it was known that it had surpassed Tesla as the world’s largest seller of pure electric vehicles in the fourth quarter
