The Chinese car manufacturer wants to position itself better on the German market.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Stuttgart The Chinese electric car giant BYD wants to significantly expand its market share in Germany. “We want to have around five to ten percent in the electrical segment in the medium term,” said Lars Pauly, Head of Sales for Germany. He did not name a time. He is currently busy setting up the sales structures. The end customer business has been running since the beginning of 2023. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, 165 BYD cars were registered by the end of May. In total, there have been 1.1 million in Germany since the beginning of the year.
BYD sold 550,000 electric cars worldwide in 2022, including 440,000 in China. This is the first time since 2008 that the VW rival has robbed the Wolfsburg core brand of market leadership in China. According to car experts, Chinese manufacturers are leaders in battery technology and autonomous driving. However, there is also skepticism about the chances of the new competitors gaining a foothold in established markets. In 2022 as a whole, the market share of Chinese brands such as Nio or MG Roewe in Germany was 0.9 percent.
In Germany, BYD is primarily targeting price-sensitive customers, explained Pauly, who runs the business at BYD importer Hedin Electric Mobility in Stuttgart. They want to offer an “achievable electric vehicle” and be in price segments “where others may not be active in the medium to long term”. When it comes to sales, he mainly relies on local dealers. This means that there will later also be contact persons for customer service.
Companies like BYD, which started as a battery producer in 1995, have to be taken seriously in the long term, said Pauly. “On the other hand, we also have respect for established European brands that have simply built up their brands and sales organizations.” The times when Chinese manufacturers made a fool of themselves in safety tests or with poor quality are over .
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