China’s BYD increased its electric vehicle sales in the second quarter of the year by 21%, helping to narrow the gap with Tesla after the Chinese company returned the title of the world’s best electric car company to its American rival in the first quarter.
sales
BYD sold 42,603,039 electric vehicles in the April-June period, according to Reuters calculations based on monthly sales reports, about 12,000 fewer than Tesla’s estimated second-quarter deliveries.
Price cuts and a growing shift in consumer demand toward electric and hybrid vehicles, away from conventional cars, are the main reasons behind the strong sales of Chinese electric vehicle makers in recent months, said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association.
Sales of new energy vehicles, including electric and hybrid vehicles, in China accounted for 46.7 percent of total auto sales in May, the highest monthly level ever, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
Chinese electric cars face regulatory hurdles from the United States and Europe, with countries fearing that Chinese production will hurt their domestic electric car sectors and boost the dominance of the world’s second-largest economy.
talks
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said last month that EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis had told him there would be concrete talks on tariffs with China.
The confirmation came after China’s commerce ministry said Minister Wang Wentao had agreed with Dombrovskis, who is the executive vice president of the European Commission, to start consultations on EU tariffs on imported Chinese-made electric cars, which the bloc considers excessive government subsidies.
The goal is to level the playing field for countries, Habeck said in Shanghai, adding that export orientation is desirable, but we should not use subsidies to achieve this goal.
