BYD manager calls EV price war it helped spark unsustainable

BYD Co. sees China’s electric vehicle price war as unsustainable, according to a senior company executive, who stopped short of saying the country’s largest EV maker would scale back the aggressive discounting it helped trigger.

“It’s very extreme, tough competition,” executive vice president Stella Li said in an interview with Bloomberg News in London. “No, it’s not sustainable,” she added, noting that consolidation across the sector is likely as the market matures.

The comments highlight mounting strain within China’s overheated EV market, where a flood of new entrants and deep price cuts—many led by BYD—have eroded margins and triggered rare government intervention. While BYD has gained market share, the fallout is growing, with investors, regulators and rivals all pushing for a reset.

Beijing summoned industry leaders for talks earlier this month, telling EV makers not to sell cars below cost or offer unreasonable price cuts.

The EV price war has weighed heavily on automaker shares, with BYD losing around $22 billion in market capitalization since peaking in late May. Still, the company is seen as a likely long-term winner if smaller and mid-sized rivals are squeezed out, allowing BYD to grow its dominant market share.

Li said BYD plans to continue investing aggressively outside China, with a particular focus on Europe. The company expects to spend as much as $20 billion in the region over the coming years, she said.

BYD’s market share is rising rapidly in key European countries including Germany, the UK and Italy, helped by a fast-expanding dealer network and competitively priced offerings—especially plug-in hybrids. 

The company recently overtook rival Tesla Inc. in Europe, a shift attributed in part to BYD offering a wider lineup of models. It currently sells around nine to ten vehicles in the region, compared to Tesla’s four.

Li also said that BYD has no immediate plans to partner with a European automaker, a strategy that local rivals Xpeng Inc. and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. have embraced. “But the door is open,” she said. 

Li added that BYD is also investing heavily in after-sales service, and expects its European market share to climb further as more customers become familiar with the company’s technology and support.

“If we decide to do something, we put all our resources behind it,” she said. “We want to make sure it’s successful in the long run.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com