Dogmas are there to be broken. And that, a priori, should be good news. Many might think that the only possibility that a Chinese brand would have to conquer Europe would be with very cheap products and, perhaps, giving up equipment, quality of construction and materials and – watch out, delicate terrain – safety. Others might think – and will continue to think – that Chinese brands will never conquer Europe. But There are more and more indications, and arguments, to think that the Chinese car has come to Europe to stay and stand up to European manufacturers, Japanese and Korean, and American. And not even Tesla is free from this threat.
In recent weeks we have already been narrating the first events of this conquest, how MG is gaining ground unstoppably, with a combination of products with gasoline engines that are unbeatable in price, and attractive and quality electric ones, also much more affordable than their European counterparts. . We also told you about the breakdown of some great dogmas. According to EuroNCAP, Chinese cars are safe, or at least that is what has been shown by products such as ORA Funky Cat and WEY Coffe01 from Great Wall Motors, Lynk&Co 01, NIO ES8 and, more recently, BYD ATTO 3, which have scored the 5 EuroNCAP stars.
Now, focusing on the latter and, above all, on a brand called BYD, as an acronym for Build Your Dreams. Could this Chinese brand be Tesla’s biggest threat?
The threat posed by Chinese brands to European ones is not so much about cheap, low-cost products, but also about quality, technological and in some cases tremendously attractive products, with prices that will not find a rival among Western manufacturers.
BYD ATTO 3.They are not cheap cars, but with unrivaled prices
The first surprise that one could take – I recognize that I take it – when approaching the products with which Build Your Dreams arrives in Europe is that they are not cheap cars. The pre-sale price in Germany of the most affordable product of this Chinese foray, the BYD ATTO 3, is €38,000.
Let’s think that they are pre-sale prices and that later they will be adjusted to each market, as well as to their incentives and aid, such as the MOVES Plan. Thinking that the BYD ATTO 3 is an electric SUV, which will arrive well equipped, with apparent quality and a lot of technology, with a size between a Volkswagen ID.4 and an ID.3 and a price that will surely be below that of this latest, we could be facing one of the most interesting electric cars on the market.
But there is still more.
BYD ATTO 3 will be a more than decent alternative to ID.3 and ID.4, while BYD TANG and BYD HAN aim to rival Tesla’s best products, but with significantly lower prices
Inside the BYD Tang.High-end electrics that aspire to rival Tesla
The highlight of the Build Your Dreams range arrives with the BYD HAN and BYD TANG, sedan and high-end SUV that will start from a pre-sale price in Germany of €72,000. These two products target Tesla’s waterline. The BYD TANG is an SUV that has 7 seats, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds and has a range of 400 kilometers (WLTP).
The BYD HAN is close to 5 meters long, 520 kilometers of autonomy and 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. Its price in Spain, according to the announced pre-sale, will be between €70,000 and €75,000. With which we are facing an electric luxury sedan, with specifications very similar to those of a Tesla Model S, but about € 30,000 cheaper than this. A product made in China that aspires to compete with the Tesla Model S.
Best of all, our first live impression, which you can see in the TikTok video prepared at the Paris Motor Show by my partner David G. Artés. The impression of a car with good adjustments, a perception of high quality – in some respects superior to that of the Tesla Model S – and very technological. Pay close attention to the instrumentation screen that can be rotated to work in a horizontal or vertical layout (see tik tok video).
BYD HAN.Without a doubt, we are before a critical moment for European industrywhich has to address the transition to the electric car, with the increasing pressure of environmental regulations and, now also, with increasing competition from the Asian Giant.
But we cannot hide that it is also an exciting moment for us, the communicators. For those of us who are looking forward to trying this wave of products made in China that, unless we are very wrong, will soon be common on the streets of our cities.
