New YorkCNN — The most important carmaker in the world right now is the Chinese-owned, Warren Buffett-backed company that has Elon Musk in a pickle.
BYD, a carmaker Musk once laughed at, overtook Tesla at the end of last year as the top seller of electric vehicles on the planet (Tesla overtook it in the first quarter of this year, but they’re neck and neck). And now it’s giving Toyota a run for its money, unveiling a new hybrid powertrain that BYD says is capable of taking you from New York to Miami without refueling.
That’s 1,300 miles in one go — hundreds of miles beyond the standard ranges for other hybrids on the market. According to The Wall Street Journal, ranges of major global hybrid carmakers typically top out just above 680 miles.
BYD’s Hong Kong shares shot up more than 5% on Wednesday.
There are a few reasons why all of that matters.
One: Tesla is America’s best-selling EV, but it’s losing market share overseas to foreign competitors that can make their cars cheaper. And while Tesla is an EV pioneer, it hasn’t rolled out any significant innovations in recent years that would help justify its loftier price point.
That’s why BYD — which makes both EVs and hybrids — is now eating Tesla’s lunch on the global stage.
China is the world’s biggest auto market, and BYD is its top seller, surpassing Volkswagen last year.
On top of all that, BYD’s sedans are cheap. The two models that will boast the new drivetrain start at around $14,000. (For comparison, the best-selling hybrid in the US, the Toyota Prius, starts at $28,000.)
BYD’s evolution from a small producer of clunkers to a global powerhouse brand has surprised its skeptics, including Musk, who roundly dismissed BYD in a 2011 Bloomberg interview.
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Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/30/tech/elon-musk-byd-china-nightcap/index.html