The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) recently released data showing that BYD's new car registrations in the UK market in October were seven times that of Tesla. At the same time, BYD's sales in the country this year have surged sixfold, with monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units, and cumulative annual sales reaching 39,102. Meanwhile, Tesla's sales are still declining.

In fact, this phenomenon is also common in Germany: BYD's new car registrations in October exceeded Tesla by four times. BYD's overseas exports have already surpassed 800,000 units this year, and becoming the best-selling brand in multiple countries and regions has become a norm.

Take the UK market as an example: In September, BYD sold 11,271 vehicles, representing an 880% year-on-year increase and a 541% month-on-month increase, with nearly half being DM models. It should be noted that this happened without the benefit of purchase subsidies. According to UK regulations: if you buy a Chinese brand car, you cannot get a subsidy; the UK market generally prefers brands such as Volkswagen, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Nissan.

Additionally, although the UK encourages the purchase of new energy vehicles, the basic infrastructure such as charging piles is not ideal and is seriously lagging behind. As an important hub in the global automotive industry, the UK, with its mature consumer market, has always been a "must-win" territory for Chinese automakers. Within just two years, BYD has transformed from "no one knows BYD" to "no one doesn't know BYD."

BYD's strategy is very simple:

First, breaking the ice. The BYD team has taken multiple approaches, frequently visiting traditional dealers and stores, while also establishing several pioneer stores, creating samples of store activities. From seeking cooperation everywhere to dealers actively queuing up to request cooperation with BYD. Now there are over 100 stores in the UK.

Second, rooting in. BYD has selected several models suitable for the UK market, including the Seagull, Seal, and Dolphin, offering flexible configurations for pure electric and DM models. Among them, the Seal U (domestic model is Song Plus) plug-in hybrid SUV has the highest sales. Additionally, BYD is also pushing for the construction of charging piles and other facilities.

Pushing plug-in hybrid models combined with low-price small cars gives British people a reason to be attracted. BYD's product strategy is precisely adapted to the UK market:

Hybrid models dominate: due to the slow development of charging infrastructure in the UK, BYD mainly promotes plug-in hybrid models (such as Song PLUS DM-i), alleviating users' range anxiety, accounting for nearly half of September's sales.

High cost-performance advantage: The Dolphin model is priced at 26,000 pounds, which is 14,000 pounds cheaper than the cheapest Tesla (40,000 pounds), covering the cost of a second car.

Channel deepening + localization strategy + strong product power has continuously improved BYD's competitiveness in the UK market. Tesla's sales decline has many non-market factors, but BYD was also affected last year due to the EU imposing a maximum 45% tariff on it.

Without subsidies in the local market, sales increased instead of decreasing, indicating that Chinese cars still have a huge market overseas.

It is worth mentioning that buying a BYD Seal in the UK incurs a luxury tax. This model, which sells for around 200,000 yuan domestically, sells for 47,500 pounds in the UK, making it a true luxury car. This demonstrates the competitiveness of BYD's models.

Certainly, the UK becoming BYD's largest single overseas market is just a model. Next, BYD needs to continue to deepen its efforts and continuously enhance brand influence and trust. Currently, the progress of the Hungarian and Turkish factories is slightly slow, and building its own logistics fleet has shortened the European delivery cycle and reduced costs by more than 30%, which still requires orders to show.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569452848493412918/

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