New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in China
- Thread starter supercat
- Start date
I wish BYD would somehow take over EVDirect’s operation in Aus. From browsing Atto 3 owner groups in FB, the Australian one is the most problematic due to the distributor.
Lethe
Captain
This sort of news is just what a nascent Chinese brand in Australia needs. Yikes. I don't doubt that the EVDirect SIM shenanigans are mostly responsible for this, but if reports are true concerning lack of driver notification as to what is happening and inability to end call, it sounds like there is work to do on BYD's end too. The anti-SeeSeePee crowd is going to be all over this.
The BYD Atto 3 and/or Dolphin may or may not be better vehicles than the MG 4, but in Australia today MG is the more attractive ownership proposition. Some level of brand recognition and reputation (which flows through to retained value when selling second-hand), factory-backed distributor operation, lack of "shoots self in foot" incidents like the convoluted warranty/servicing arrangements that BYD has in Australia, the middle-seat ISOFIX tether debacle, and now this covert surveillance business.
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Lethe
Captain
The capabilities of these electric off-road vehicles seem very impressive, but I am yet to be convinced that they are a winner for real-world applications where the desire for off-road capability is typically paired with the desire for long range and often towing capabilities. In Australia our electric vehicle charging infrastructure is poor even in the major cities, and virtually nonexistent in the areas where folks like to take their Toyota Landcruisers and Nissan Patrols and such. Indeed, the ongoing dominance of these often technically antiquated vehicles highlights just how conservative the segment is in Australia. On paper the Land Rover Defender is an amazing off-road vehicle in terms of ground clearance, rampover/breakover angles, and other fundamental off-road characteristics, yet Land Rover's reputation for poor reliability, poor parts availability, high servicing costs, mean that its sales are no threat to Toyota, Mitsubishi, even Ford. One of the reasons for Toyota's dominance, especially outside urban areas, is because every regional town has a Toyota dealership or local garage with mechanics who are familiar with Toyotas. The network effects are considerable, and it's a tough market to get traction in. Perhaps these electric off-roaders will indeed prove amazing in real-world applications and the other stars (attitudes, infrastructure, price) will align to create a revolution in the market, but I suspect the transition to electric in this segment is likely to lag behind more urban segments.
What a day. here is a nice article on the tech developed by BYD that got unveiled today.
I did some summaries here
Pretty amazing stuff. the tech is certainly off the notch here.
I did some summaries here
Pretty amazing stuff. the tech is certainly off the notch here.
Also, I posted my thoughts on just the branding effect of Yangwang here as a response to this Bloomberg article.
btw, I also had a nice conversation with Bloomberg reporter that covers this area. BYD really needs to do a better job at PR and IR so that people outside of China can get more updated info on all the cars that they are unveiling to the public.
While this Yangwang brand unveiling is a big deal in China, it should really be a big deal outside of China too. If this was Tesla doing a new brand, it would get far more coverage.
If they can get 2000 to 3000 sales per month by end of the year for Yangwang brand, I think it'd be considered a success. The overall goal here is to push up the value of BYD mass market brand and even Denza. So you can't afford Yangwang car? No problem, you can get the same tech on higher spec'd model of marine brand in a couple of years or Denza model in a year. You still get to be part of the BYD family. There is some serious branding affect that BYD will dig into. I'm sure it will get more patriotic buyers too.
btw, I also had a nice conversation with Bloomberg reporter that covers this area. BYD really needs to do a better job at PR and IR so that people outside of China can get more updated info on all the cars that they are unveiling to the public.
While this Yangwang brand unveiling is a big deal in China, it should really be a big deal outside of China too. If this was Tesla doing a new brand, it would get far more coverage.
If they can get 2000 to 3000 sales per month by end of the year for Yangwang brand, I think it'd be considered a success. The overall goal here is to push up the value of BYD mass market brand and even Denza. So you can't afford Yangwang car? No problem, you can get the same tech on higher spec'd model of marine brand in a couple of years or Denza model in a year. You still get to be part of the BYD family. There is some serious branding affect that BYD will dig into. I'm sure it will get more patriotic buyers too.