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China’s main electric vehicle manufacturer by Byd has pledged to work with Rival Tesla to fight gasoline cars, while insisting that Beijing was “more open” for foreign business than the West.
“Our common enemy is the engine with internal combustion engine. We have to work together. . . To make the industry change, ”said Byd Stella Li Deputy Chairman in an interview with Financial Times.
Despite its comments, both car makers are competing to be the largest group in the world. Byd is aiming at the rapid growth of advanced sales in Europe with more product offers than the US company. Tesla, on the other hand, has undergone a decline in European sales in the back of Elon Musk’s growing political activism.
Speaking in a Byd exhibition hall in London, Li said China was ready to share key technology into EV and autonomous driving with foreign companies, despite increasing trade tensions with Brussels and Washington.
“(The Chinese government is more open, so maybe there is a lot of misconceptions here,” she said.
She added that the Chinese car market was “homeland for innovation” and called on foreign companies to come to China. “The government will support you and they will work with you to allow any technology to be realized,” she said.
Byd last month revealed that the advanced functions of the smart direction through his self-direction “Eye of God” will become available to customers in most of his models at no additional cost.
The announcement has sparked concerns throughout the lower income industry for such driver’s help technologies, with analysts predicting that the entire market will be forced to follow the popularization of smart management functions.
The group supported by Warren Buffett has also made aggressive entry into European markets with plans for local production through its plants in Hungary and Turkey to address the highest EU tariffs against EV imports in China. Byd also collected $ 5.6BN through a share of shares in Hong Kong to help expand it overseas, according to a performance on Tuesday.
But Brussels also wants Chinese companies to transfer intellectual property to European businesses in exchange for EU subsidies. Meanwhile, Beijing, responding to increasing Western protectionism, has signaled that it wants Chinese companies to limit some advanced overseas products.
In recent years, China has also gradually expanded export controls from curves on battery materials such as rare soils in technology and processes that turn rare soils to the permanent metals and magnets used in EV.
When asked about the latest political developments in the EU about technology sharing, Li said it did not pay attention to politics because it was “short -term” and ultimately customers would choose the best product.
The Chinese government was helping its push overseas, and its entire innovation would be presented in its global markets, including its self-direction technology, she said. “For any investment we have abroad, the (Chinese) government is supporting a lot (US).”
Li said that byd will bring different opportunities from EV to European-as Customers as is the Hybrid-In Seal Plug Seal, in the wake of EV sales in major European markets and with hybrids that are not subject to EU tariffs. He also plans to launch her brand Denza Premium later this year.
The market share of the Byd battery car in Western Europe, including the UK, was 2 percent last year, according to Schmidt Automotive Research.
Li confirmed that Byd had no plans to introduce EV to the US, which last year hit a 100 percent fee for Chinese imports EV. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced additional fees for imports from China and confirmed plans to continue with taxes in Mexico and Canada next week. Li said no decision was made on Byd’s plans to build a factory in Mexico.
She said she was not worried about a global slowdown in the EV transition as a result of Trump’s policies. Referring to the displacement away from gasoline vehicles in China, she said: “Why are people still choosing EV? Because it’s a better car, a smarter car. . . And is of the highest quality. ”
Additional reporting from Cheng Leng to Hong Kong
