BYD says it won't chase sales goals in 'uncertain' European market

MUNICH -- The Chinese EV powerhouse BYD is preparing to take on Tesla and Volkswagen in Europe with the new Seal midsize sedan and SUV midsize SUV, but executives say they won’t define success only by meeting sales targets.

The Seal will arrive later this year, at a price of 42,990 euros in Germany for the base rear-wheel drive model; an all-wheel drive version will be 50,990 euros. 

Among competitors, the just-updated Tesla Model 3 starts at 45,560 euros in Germany, although prices have fluctuated with discounts. VW’s ID5 coupe-style SUV is 47,595 euros, while the coming ID7 midsize sedan will be in the mid-50,000 euro range. 

Penny Peng, marketing director for BYD Europe, described the brand’s positioning as “premium accessible,” with cutting-edge technology at an affordable price as the leading selling point. 

BYD is one of a host of Chinese brands that plan to enter the hyper-competitive European market, worrying European auto executives who say they have difficulty matching China's lower build costs.

The Seal is more performance-oriented than competitors such as the Model 3, Peng told Automotive News Europe in an interview at the at the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich, thanks to higher torsional stiffness from BYD’s E-Platform 3.0. The architecture features BYD’s in-house low-profile lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) “blade” battery, integrated power electronics and “cell to body” construction, meaning that the battery is a structural part of the vehicle.  

“It’s really more like a super sports car,” Peng said. “You won’t get this kind of performance at this price” from rivals, she added.

BYD says the blade battery is more space efficient than competitors’ batteries, resulting in higher energy density and longer range.

The all-wheel drive Seal sedan has a WLTP range of 620 km (354 miles) from an 82.5-kilowatt-hour battery; 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) takes 3.8 seconds. Charging time from 30 percent to 80 percent is 26 minutes at a 150 kilowatt high-speed charge point, BYD says.

The Seal U arrives next year; prices have not been announced.

Peng said that BYD did not want to give a sales target for Europe, describing the EV market as “dynamic” and also “uncertain.”

Through July, BYD sold 2,492 cars in Europe, compared with 1,170 in the same period last year. The Atto 3 compact accounted for 1,977 of those sales, according to figures from Dataforce.

“Our goal is not to reach some kind of sales target,” Peng said. “We really want our customers to be satisfied with our product. That’s why service is so important to us, and that’s the reason we aren’t choosing direct sales.”

Unlike some new entrants – as well as legacy automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis – BYD will sell its cars through a traditional distributor/dealer model, rather than a direct-to-customer agency model.

Peng said that was because BYD’s distributors already have trusted customers and can provide the best service. “Many of them have been family owned for more than 100 years, so we trust the whole ecosystem,” she said.

She added that dealers would need to have a certain amount of cars in stock, but that BYD wants to keep inventories lean, a tricky balance when shipping cars from China can take several months, Peng acknowledged.

Michael Shu, managing director for BYD Europe, said on Monday that the automaker was aiming to have 145 sales points across Europe.

BYD currently sells the Atto 3, a compact crossover; the Han midsize sedan; and the Tang, a seven-seat midsize SUV. The automaker has said it could bring the Dolphin compact hatchback to Europe. The Atto 3 sells for about 38,000 euros, while the Han and Tang are each about 72,000 euros.

BYD is working on a replacement for the Tang and could sell it in Europe, Peng said.

An associated brand, Denza, which is a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, plans to start European sales of the D9, a luxury passenger van that will compete with the Mercedes V-Class and coming Lexus LM. It will be sold in plug-in hybrid and full-electric versions.

Mercedes owns 10 percent of the brand after reducing its stake in 2021.