BYD's Fleet of Car Carriers

China's BYD completed their massive fleet of eight vessels and reached an annual transport capacity of over 1 million cars. The final car carrier to join the fleet, BYD Jinan, went into operation last week, the company announced on WeChat. 

The Shenzhen-based automaker completed the fleet in under two years. The first vessel, BYD Explorer No. 1, was delivered in January 2024. 

All the car carriers are RoRo ships, meaning they are designed to carry wheeled cargo – the vehicles roll on/roll off themselves without the need for containers. BYD ships have a capacity of 7,200 or 9,000 cars based on the type of vessel. 

Aside from the newly launched Jinan, all seven ships are already supplying the world with BYD products. BYD Hefei is currently unloading cars in Europe before returning to China. BYD Xi’an is expected to arrive in Barcelona, Spain later this week. BYD Shenzhen and Changsha are also on their way from China to Europe.

But BYD are not exporting just China-made cars. BYD Zhengzhou, with a capacity of 7,000 vehicles, brought BYD right-hand drive cars from Thailand to the UK this week and is now en route to unload in Belgium, according to MarineTraffic data. This is the first time BYD have exported cars from their Thailand plant. 

Thailand, unlike China, is not subject to EU countervailing tariffs imposed on Chinese EV makers after the EC concluded its anti-subsidy investigation last October. BYD are subject to an additional 17% tariff on top of the existing 10% tariff.

However, BYD don’t rely only on their Chinese plants for overseas sales. On July 01, BYD began production at their Brazilian plant, with the first Seagull hatchback rolling off the line. The automaker also built their first European car plant in Hungary; however, the Szeged facility is not yet operational, as the company have delayed mass production until 2026. BYD are also building an EV plant in Pakistan, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2026. In Uzbekistan, production already started in June 2024. 

All those plants are knock-down kits (KD), meaning the car is brought in as parts from China and assembled locally. BYD claim they want to achieve a high level of localisation.

BYD reportedly face declining sales in their domestic market, and only their overseas sales prevent a sharper fall. 

In August, the overseas sales grew 157% to 80,813 vehicles YoY, while China sales fell 22% to 284,005 cars for the BYD brand.

BYD plan to achieve 20% of their sales in 2025 from overseas markets, targeting the sale of 1 million vehicles outside China. In 2025 so far, January-September, BYD sold 697,072 vehicles outside their home country.

If you're interested to know:

The Seagull Soars High

The spotlight has shone on the BYD Seagull (also known elsewhere as the Dolphin Mini) as it was announced as the 2025 World Urban Car at the New York International Auto Show (April 18-27). 

The Seagull's triumph at the World Car Awards highlights its impressive design, performance, and growing consumer appeal. To be eligible, vehicles needed to be available in at least two major markets across two continents, have an annual production exceeding 5,000 units, and measure no more than 4.25 meters. The Seagull met all these criteria to claim the top honor. 

What struck the panel of 96 veteran automotive journalists was the BYD Seagull’s innovative “Ocean Aesthetics” design, coupled with its high safety standards and advanced smart driving features. 

Since making their global debut, BYD have consistently impressed the international community with their cutting-edge technology and robust brand presence. In 2024, the BYD Dolphin secured a place among the top three finalists for the “World Urban Car” award, while the BYD Seal distinguished itself as one of the top three finalists in the prestigious “World Car of the Year” category. This remarkable feat not only solidified BYD’s reputation as a leader in automotive innovation but also made history as the first – and still sole – Chinese automaker to reach the top three in the overall World Car of the Year competition. 

This is not only a clear sign of the growing strength of the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) market, but also a big loss for the North American market (particularly the US) which has been shunning electric cars from China. This remarkable achievement marks a milestone for BYD, a brand that has steadily gained recognition for its commitment to sustainable mobility.

BYD’s journey to becoming a significant player in the electric vehicle (EV) market is a testament to their strategic vision and innovation. Originally a rechargeable battery manufacturer, BYD have transformed over the past three decades into a global leader in EVs and renewable energy solutions. The company’s expansion into the EV sector has been marked by a commitment to integrating affordable solar power generation, reliable energy storage, and electrified transportation, known as the Zero Emissions Energy Solution. 

As the landscape of the global automotive market shifts, the Seagull’s success signifies a turning point for Chinese manufacturers on the world stage, illustrating their capacity to compete with established automotive giants.

Even in Malaysia, I'm seeing more and more BYD cars on the road.

BYD's Breakthroughs Jolt EV Market

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD's shares are flying at all-time highs after the company unveiled new battery technology that takes just five minutes to charge. 

BYD's Hong Kong-listed shares rose as much as 6% on Tuesday and closed at 401.40 Hong Kong dollars. They jumped again on Wednesday and were up more than 4% at one point in morning trading, at around HK$418. 

Their stock price has gained over 50% since the start of the year and their market capitalization of about HK$1.2 trillion ($154.4 billion) is now neck-and-neck with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), their main rival in batteries, according to FactSet data. 

The new charging platform means that drivers can get enough juice for a 400 kilometer journey in roughly the amount of time it takes to refuel a petrol-powered vehicle. 

"We have entered an era where fuel and electricity can be refueled at the same speed", BYD chairperson and founder Wang Chuanfu (left) announced. "We have moved from an era where 'people wait for their cars' to an era where 'cars wait for the people'", he added, to drive home the message.

BYD's new system gives them extra horsepower for challenging US rival Tesla, which are already under heavy pressure from the rise of Chinese EV competitors. 

Last year, Tesla saw their first-ever decline in annual deliveries, while their stock has been hammered in early 2025. Tesla shares fell 5.3% in New York on Tuesday, after BYD's bombshell, and are down more than 40% year to date. More broadly, the announcement adds to a wave of excitement about Chinese technology that has swept the stock markets.

The system will be installed in two EV models, the Han L sedan and the Tang L sport utility vehicle, which are to be released in April. Pre-order prices have been fixed at between 270,000-350,000 yuan ($37,300-$48,400) for the Han L and between 280,000 yuan and 360,000 yuan for the Tang L. 

Another part of the equation is BYD's charging infrastructure. On Monday, the company also revealed plans to distribute a new charger with a maximum output of 1,360 kW. They target to build more than 4,000 charging stations equipped with these superfast chargers nationwide.

In China, Tesla use charging output of 250 kW, while Huawei Technologies have announced that they will install chargers with a maximum output of 600 kW. BYD's chargers promise a significant step up, although much hinges on the extent of their adoption. 

The latest breakthroughs, which will underpin many of their future electric vehicles (EVs), could provide another boost for BYD, which have come from behind to rival US manufacturer Tesla as the world’s top EV seller. Tesla’s China shipments plunged 49 percent in February from a year earlier to just 30,688 vehicles, the lowest monthly figure since July 2022.

BYD once again are upping the ante on the industry, noting that the announcement came soon after the company said they were ready to "democratize intelligent driving" by putting their latest God's Eye autopilot system in most of their models, which claimed to achieve over 1,000km of autonomous driving without intervention. 

BYD rock! According to SNE Research, in respect to global EV sales from January to December 2024, BYD are ranked No. 1 in the world by selling 4.137 million units and posting a 43.4% YoY growth.

BYD Surpass Tesla in 2024

The number of electric vehicles (EVs) produced by Chinese new-energy vehicle (NEV) maker BYD surpassed that of US automaker Tesla in 2024, according to the two firms' latest financial reports, and in terms of EV sales, BYD's gap with Tesla narrowed to within 30,000 units last year. 

 

This reveals the growing competitiveness of Chinese NEVs and their popularity in global markets, which is based on technological advances and supply-chain advantages, analysts said. 

 

Last year, Tesla sold 1.79 million vehicles, according to a financial report they released on Thursday. This was down 1.1 percent from their deliveries in 2023, the first such decline since 2015.

 

Meanwhile, Chinese automaker BYD sold 1.77 million EVs last year, up 12.08 percent year-on-year. That means Tesla still retained the title of the world's top selling EV brand in 2024, but the gap with BYD was less than 30,000 vehicles, compared with over 220,000 in 2023. 

 

According to a CNN report, Tesla announced sales of 495,570 EVs in 4Q24, which was far behind BYD's global deliveries of around 600,000 EVs in the same quarter.

 

Previously, BYD beat Tesla in EV sales for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2023. And in the third quarter of 2023, BYD also overtook Tesla in revenue for the first time.

 

With regard to EV production, Tesla produced 1.770 million EVs in 2024, while that of BYD was slightly higher at 1.778 million units.

 

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday that the momentum has been achieved thanks to Chinese companies' significant advances in related technologies, their growing status in global markets and the rapid development of the NEV industry. It has also come despite intense global competition, Wang noted. 

 

Besides BYD, a number of other Chinese NEV makers such as Chongqing Changan Automobile Co and Zeekr also reported stellar sales in 2024, with some posting growth of over 50 percent year-on-year. 

 

In Malaysia, BYD is becoming more and more popular!

 

Note: BEV stands for Battery Electric Vehicle. Or more frequently called EV. An all-electric vehicle that is powered exclusively by a battery-operated electric motor, which is charged via the power grid, i.e. it does not require any fossil fuel. And which means, it is 100% emission-free.

Meet BYD's Yangwang U8 That Can Swim

Meet the world’s first electrified car that can swim.

 

If you've read my post "BYD's Yangwang U9 Can Dance and Smoke a Ferrari" published March 25, 2024, there was a mention about BYD's Yangwang U8’s “float mode”. 

 

Yangwang is the luxury Chinese electric car brand owned by BYD, the maker of the Seal saloon and Dolphin hatchback. Their latest car, the U8, is a plug-in hybrid SUV that can float on water. Really.

 

The floating SUV can sail a car full of people across water for up to 30 minutes moving at a speed of 3km/h by spinning its wheels. However, the U8’s float feature is for emergencies only and is not to be used for traditional SUV wading. 

 

BYD insist that the technology isn’t a gimmick and could save lives in an accident involving water or a flood. After being submerged, the car must be inspected at a service station.

 

Kindly check out this video from DiscoverChinaAuto, "Emergency Floating Function Close-Up Demonstration":

 

 

Published on Sunday, a CBS News poll has found broad satisfaction with Donald Trump’s trouncing of Vice President Kamala Harris in this month’s US presidential election, with 55% of respondents saying that they felt ‘happy’ or ‘satisfied’ with the result, and 44% feeling ‘angry’ or ‘dissatisfied’. 

 

The poll also found that 57% of respondents approve of one of Trump’s most controversial proposals: the deportation of all immigrants in the US illegally. 43% disapprove of the policy. Already, Democrat mayors and governors have vowed to resist the incoming president’s plans. 

 

Trump has promised since last year that, if elected, he would lead “the largest deportation operation in American history”. With anywhere from 11 million to 35 million illegal immigrants living in the US, Trump’s proposed border czar, Tom Homan, has said that those who commit crimes in the country or otherwise threaten national security will be prioritized for deportation.

BYD Partner with Wukong Developer-Publisher

BYD, on October 20, have entered into a global strategic partnership with Game Science to become the exclusive automotive brand partner of the hit Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong, as the new energy vehicle (NEV) maker ramp up their marketing efforts.

As part of the partnership, BYD and Game Science will work together to promote the scanning of Chinese heritage sites into digital assets to support future restoration efforts, according to an announcement from the NEV maker. The two companies will start this year by joining forces with local museums to digitally scan cultural artifacts, starting with Shanxi in northwest China, where the game is most heavily set.

BYD are the world's top seller of NEVs, with vehicles in 95 countries and regions and more than 400 cities around the world, the company said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ukraine's Kursk Region adventure has turned into a misadventure, if not a disaster, having suffered massive losses.

Todate, Ukraine has sacrificed 25,420 servicemen, 169 tanks, 84 infantry fighting vehicles, 103 armored personnel carriers, as well as 977 armored combat vehicles, 664 other motor vehicles, 216 pieces of artillery, 38 multiple rocket launchers, including nine HIMARS and six US-made MLRS.

And over at the Ukrainian front lines, the Russians are unstoppable and keep advancing.

[V]olodmir [Z]elensky, it's over lah!

Chinese EVs Go Global

Chinese electric vehicles (EV) are making their presence felt globally. In fact, there are so many Chinese EV brands that I have lost count of. And many that admittedly, I am not familiar with.

 

Here's a sample of twenty Chinese EV brands you may or may not know about:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China passed a milestone in the green revolution in July 2024 when sales of EVs and hybrids surpassed those of internal combustion engine cars for the first time. 

 

Retail sales of “new-energy” cars – the umbrella term used in China for EVs and hybrids – made up 51.1% of all sales in that month, a giant leap from just 7% three years ago. 

 

The landmark follows a continuing surge in the popularity of EVs in the country. From January to June 2024, total sales of new-energy vehicles in China reached 4.34 million, a year-on-year increase of 35.1 percent. 

 

Already, the country’s manufacturing dominance has helped it overtake Japan as the world’s biggest vehicle exporter in 2023. 

 

This prowess in green technology, however, has put China’s EV industry in the cross hairs of the United States (including vassal state Canada) and Europe, as they worry about the impact on their own manufacturers and over-reliance on an adversary. Already, the US quadrupled the tariff rate on Chinese EVs  to 100% and which took effect September 27!

Tesla, perhaps the best-known of the EV manufacturers in Western markets, saw first-quarter sales down by 20 percent this year, compared with the same period in 2023, and their share price has slumped by more than 25 percent since the beginning of this year.

 

But make no mistake, the EV industry is still the future. And China is definitely going ahead full throttle and its EVs are taking over the world.

EV Sales Are Surging In Southeast Asia

Electric vehicle sales are surging in Southeast Asia, led by China's BYD and Vietnam's VinFast, eating into the internal combustion engine car market dominated by Japanese and Korean firms, Counterpoint Research reported on Friday. 

 

EV sales in the region more than doubled in the January to March quarter from a year before, according to the research firm. Sales of ICE cars, meanwhile, slid by 7 percent. 

 

"As Japanese and Korean automakers, who dominate conventional vehicle sales, lag in EV adoption, Chinese OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are stepping in to fill the gap", said Counterpoint analyst Abhik Mukherjee. 

 

"Over 70 percent of EV sales in the region are from Chinese brands, led by BYD", he added.

And for the first time ever, BYD has made it to Malaysia’s Land Transportation Department (JPJ)’s Top 10 list for vehicle registration. 

 

As revealed by the latest vehicle registration database, BYD is now in tenth place, with a total of 3,608 vehicles registered between January to May 2024. This is quite an impressive feat considering BYD is a brand unheard of by general Malaysian consumers until it made a splash with the launch of the BYD Atto 3 in December 2022.

 

For 2024 alone until May 31, the Atto 3 SUV remains the most popular model with 1,451 registrations, followed by the BYD Seal sedan with 1,421 registrations. Meanwhile, its most affordable fully electric hatchback, the Dolphin, had a total of 736 registrations.

 

If we look at the total registrations cumulatively since BYD’s passenger vehicle introduction in Malaysia, they have a total of 8,111 vehicles registered since December 2022. As expected, the BYD Atto 3 has the highest registration with a total of 4,641 units, followed by the BYD Dolphin with 2,049 units and the BYD Seal with 1,421 units.

 

For the Malaysian market, BYD is exclusively distributed by Sime Darby Beyond Auto, a subsidiary of Sime Darby Motors.

Xiaomi Join Crowded EV Race

 

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi launched their much-anticipated electric car, the Speed Ultra 7 (SU7) sedan on Thursday in Beijing, China and have already started taking orders. 

 

The technology giant's chief executive Lei Jun said the standard SU7 model would be priced at 215,900 yuan ($29,874) and the Max version would cost 299,900 yuan ($41,497). And Xiaomi have secured 88,898 firm orders for the SU7 within 24 hours following its introduction.

 

Xiaomi's entry into the electric car market comes as sales growth has slowed globally, triggering a price war. This has not deterred them and they are determined to take on EV rivals including Tesla and BYD. And they're hoping that the SU7's shared operating system with their phones, laptops and other devices will appeal to existing customers. 

 

FYI, Xiaomi are the third-largest seller of smartphones worldwide with a market share of about 12%, according to research firm Counterpoint.

 

The SU7, which Xiaomi has been teasing since last year, has drawn comparisons to Porsche's Taycan and Panamera sports car models. It will be made by a unit of state-owned car manufacturer BAIC Group at a plant in Beijing that can produce as many as 200,000 vehicles a year.

 

"While getting this far is itself quite an achievement, the ultimate achievement would be to demonstrate that there is a consumer market for Xiaomi as a smart EV brand", Bill Russo of Automobility told the BBC. 

 

In an indication of the challenges facing technology firms who want to make electric cars, iPhone maker Apple last month reportedly cancelled their plans to build an EV. 

 

Russo added that Xiaomi's entry into the car market reflected their confidence "in the relevancy for their brand" in China while Apple did not see enough potential in the EV market outside of China. 

 

Xiaomi have said they will invest $10 billion in their vehicles business over the next 10 years. 

 

My March 24 blog post refers. The Russian Investigative Committee reported on Thursday, citing preliminary findings, that the suspects in last week’s Moscow terrorist attack were linked to Ukrainian nationalists. 

 

The perpetrators had received “significant sums of money” from Ukraine, the law enforcement agency said. Investigators have obtained “substantiated evidence” that the suspected assailants received funding from Ukraine in the form of cryptocurrency, which was then used to prepare the terrorist attack, the statement read. 

 

Earlier, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov (right), told reporters that the US, UK, and Ukraine may have been behind the attack. He said that the Ukrainians may have been preparing a “window” for them to cross back over the border. “On the other side, they were to be welcomed as heroes”!

 

The death toll from the concert hall attack has continued to rise, with the number of deaths increasing to 144 on Friday when another severely injured victim died in a hospital, according to Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko.

BYD's Yangwang U9 Can Dance and Smoke a Ferrari

After launching their cheapest electric models (starting under $14,000), declaring a price war with gas-powered cars, China's BYD are taking aim at a new market. 

 

On January 05, 2024, BYD launched the Yangwang ultra-luxury brand, showcasing the off-road U8 and U9 electric supercar.

 

Already, in December, the brand began deliveries of its first vehicle, the U8 off-road SUV, with starting prices over $150,000 (1,089,000 yuan). The luxury SUV has generated hype as a Mercedes G-Class and Land Rover Defender rival with 1,200 hp and premium features like tank turns and tire blowout stabilization. 

 

BYD have even shown off the U8’s “float mode”, which helps the vehicle navigate through water during emergencies. In fact, the SUV made its debut in Europe at the 2024 Geneva Motor Show (February 26 – March 04, 2024).

 

And on February 25, BYD officially launched the Yangwang U9 electric supercar with a listing price of $233,400 (1,680,000 yuan). Pre-orders started on the same day, and customers who want to purchase U9 must pay a non-refundable 300,000 yuan deposit. BYD will offer a warranty for 6 years or 150,000 km.  

 

The official top speed of YangWang U9 is 309.19 km/h. It was tested on the famous Shanghai International Circuit, reaching the official lap time of 2 minutes, 17 seconds, and 65 milliseconds. 

 

Here are the times of other cars for comparison:

• Nio EP9: 2 minutes, 01 seconds, and 11 milliseconds 
• BMW M5 F90: 2 minutes, 22 seconds, and 828 milliseconds 
• Porsche Panamera Turbo: 2 minutes 27 seconds, and 727 milliseconds

With BYD’s Disus X full active body control system, the two-door coupe can jump, shake, and dance. It even comes with four different “dance mode” songs so you can dance to the beat:

 

With an 800V system, the electric supercar can charge from 30% to 80% in 10 minutes, it is claimed. It also supports dual charging.