By Victoria Waldersee
STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) -China’s BYD will introduce two more plug-in hybrid models to Germany this year, its chief for Germany and numerous other central European countries Maria Grazia Davino told Reuters on Tuesday, as the EV giant widens its product line-up to adapt to European demand.
“Not everyone is ready for electric. We need something else to convince the customer,” Davino said, speaking at the Reuters Automotive Conference in Stuttgart. “Every month, we find the best balance between what the customer wants and what makes distribution successful.”
BYD, which last year surpassed Tesla to become the world’s largest EV manufacturer, is overhauling its European operations after early stumbles in the region, including insufficient dealers, a lack of local knowledge and a line-up without plug-in hybrids, stymied sales.
The company is setting up national sales companies across Europe to support product distribution, provide customer services, and tailor its marketing to local consumers, Davino told Reuters.
“This localisation effort is a big investment… you have to build everything,” the former Stellantis executive said, adding it would take years to build a network.
BYD currently offers just one plug-in hybrid in Europe, its Seal DM-i, which uses a small gasoline engine to recharge the battery and extend driving range.
“In the near future, we will have two pillars: one fully electric, and the other DM-i,” Davino said.
‘WE WANT TO DO THINGS RIGHT’
Chinese automakers seeking respite from a protracted price war and an overcrowded EV market at home are determined to grow in Europe, circumventing tariffs imposed last year on China-made battery-electric cars by importing hybrids and accelerating plans to assemble cars locally.
BYD’s Europe reboot is showing early signs of success, with sales up to over 37,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2025, from 8,500 in the same period last year.
In Germany, where its sales sunk from to just under 2,900 last year from 4,139 in 2023, momentum is picking up, with just over 1,200 new BYD cars registered from January to March, according to motor authority KBA.
Alongside new plug-in hybrids, the EV maker will bring its entry-level Dolphin Surf to Europe this year and expand its premium model line Denza, launched in Milan last month, Davino said, with more details to come at an investor day on May 27.
“We want to do things right, in Germany and in all the markets in Europe,” Davino said. “We are known as a company that moves fast.”
($1 = 0.8777 euros)
(Reporting by Victoria WalderseeEditing by Madeline Chambers and Sharon Singleton)
