Buried in the bumf about BYD’s plans to shake up the European passenger car market with a trio of Tesla-baiting EVs was one critical line about why it could do just that: “BYD owns the vertical supply chain for seamless integration and total manufacturing control, including the production of semiconductors.”
That’s it, then - everyone else can just go home. Not only does this Warren Buffett-backed colossus (which already holds around 95% of the London electric bus market, FYI) have a comprehensive range of attractive and technically impressive passenger EVs on its way to dealerships, its oversight of the channels that are so essential to their production means it is far better placed to deal with the industry headwinds currently battering other global car manufacturers.
Tellingly, it describes itself as a technology company, rather than as a ‘car brand’ – a nod to its preoccupation with developing advanced, stable and competitive batteries completely in-house.
