00:00BYD is the biggest manufacturer of electrified vehicles in the world. It's been a while since
00:10they started their journey to conquer the European and also the German market. Where are they at
00:15right now? Where are they heading and how do they even do it? We'll find out right now. Welcome to REF.
00:24One key aspect to becoming successful in Europe is the diversity of the portfolio.
00:28While in 2023 only 6 models were available for European customers, the Chinese upped that number
00:34211 with the introduction of the Seal 6 DMI just a few days ago. The plug-in hybrid car offers up
00:40to 1350 km of range, making it a viable option at a reasonable price. Together with the small City
00:47EV Dolphin Surf and the big SUV Sea Lion 7, those three are the latest addition to the lineup.
00:53But European competitors are not sleeping either. No matter if it's German brands like VW and Mercedes
00:59or other Asian manufacturers like Toyota and Kia. How does BYD deal with that?
01:08Today we're at the IAA in Munich to talk to some BYD representatives to hear what they have to say.
01:14I don't know exactly because I'm not comparing our performance with the others. We're working
01:25very hard. We are using every opportunity to tell our story. We have great products,
01:31great technology and I think this stands out. That's the way I look at it. I don't see a comparison
01:42that is relevant. Instead, the company focuses heavily on research and development with more
01:49than 120 000 R&D employees and an expense of more than 25 billion euros in that field.
01:54The way we work is we look at the industry. We want to be relevant in all segments that are relevant
02:01for the customers. This is the way we approach the market. So if you ask me what's your target,
02:09is the target is to be relevant in the segments that are relevant to the people in each single market.
02:16And of course we have to be prepared to face the diversity of Europe because
02:20what I just said is different in different countries. By the end of 2025 BYD will have entered
02:2832 countries with a total store amount exceeding 1000 aiming to double that by the end of next year.
02:37Founded as a battery manufacturer in 1995 BYD ventured into cars back in 2003 but it wasn't until
02:442020 with the introduction of the blade battery that their sales started to surge. And just three years
02:50later they overtook the current leader Tesla to become the number one in global EV sales.
02:56The huge success of the brand on their home market was not enough for BYD which is why in 2020 they
03:02started their journey to Europe in Norway. We're still new to the German market and also to Europe
03:11and we are pursuing a clear structured plan to promote the brand in Germany in terms of both volume
03:16and awareness. So first of all we naturally need to further expand our dealer network. We can say
03:21with pride that we have already made considerable progress in this area.
03:29As of now there are 100 BYD dealerships in Germany and the manufacturer plans to have 300
03:34by the end of next year. But that's only a part of the plan. BYD has also started building factories
03:41in Europe to produce their cars locally. As of now the first factory is located in central Europe,
03:47Hungary and is set to commence output by the end of this year.
03:54You will see that we will gradually increase our sales figures over the next few months but we are
03:58not going to measure ourselves against specific figures because we are here to work on our success
04:03in the long term and we are confident that we will make rapid progress.
04:07Being number six on the list of world's top selling car brands and even the leader when it
04:13comes to electrified vehicles is definitely a good omen. We go the BYD way. We are very focused
04:20on what we are doing. We know that we have a big big way in front of us. In fact I always say the
04:27challenges fuel us and humble us in a continuous positive motion.
04:34In the end, time will have to tell whether the strategy is right.
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