BYD Co BYDDY BYDDF Chairman and founder Wang Chuanfu on Friday said foreign politicians are “afraid” of Chinese electric vehicles such as those made by the company.
What Happened: Wang, during his speech at an industry summit in Chongqing, China, called upon the electric vehicle industry to welcome greater competition to accelerate the auto industry’s transition to electric vehicles, Bloomberg reported.
"There are many examples of politicians in other countries who are worried about EVs in China," Wang said as per the report. The worry, however, is a testament to the strength of China’s car industry, he added.
"If you are not strong enough, they will not be afraid of you," he reportedly said.
The CEO’s comments come on the heels of Western nations considering an increase in tariffs on EVs imported from China. While the U.S. quadrupled tariffs on EV imports from China to over 100% earlier in May to protect American automakers, the EU is currently investigating China subsidies and considering hiking tariffs.
See Also: Best EV Stocks
Why It Matters: BYD stopped making cars with solely combustion engines in early 2022. It currently makes plug-in hybrid and pure electric passenger vehicles.
In the last quarter of 2023, BYD took over American EV giant Tesla as the world’s largest pure EV seller. However, Tesla reclaimed the title in the first quarter of 2024 after delivering 386,810 battery electric vehicles and trumping BYD’s BEV sales volume of 300,114 units.
As of the end of May this year, the Chinese EV maker has sold nearly 1.27 million passenger vehicles globally, marking a jump of 27.1% from last year, including 580,974 BEVs and 685,960 PHEVs.
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