It is just another Chinese car maker, is the general reaction you are likely to get from most people when you mention the BYD corporation. Indeed, the company that seems to go out of its way to be the complete opposite to Tesla, until recently used the line, “The world's biggest electric vehicle company you've never heard of”, in its own publicity. However, you do not have to look too far to get a very different story.  

The Chinese technology company is in fact, the biggest EV manufacturer in the world, selling 1.9 million vehicles in 2022, 600,000 more than Tesla, while the likes of VW sold less than 1 million EV cars globally. Sales have been mainly in Asia and more recently America. The reason most Irish people know little about the company, is that it only came to the market here in March.  

BYD, which stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’, was set up in 1995 by Wang Chuanfu, supposedly with just $300,000. Initially it made rechargeable batteries, but soon diversified into consumer electronics, renewable energy and then cars, trucks, coaches, trains and more. Throughout its operation, the emphasis is social and environmental responsibility. 

The company’s approach to European sales, again is a million miles away from Tesla. Rather than looking for a direct sales and aftersales model, in Ireland, BYD chose to partner with one of the longest established vehicle importers, Motor Distributors Ltd. The intention is to sell and support the vehicles through a national dealer network, with Dublin being the initial hub. 

Quietly the strategy has produced amazing results. Despite only arriving in March, by the end of September, BYD had sold 455 cars. To put this in context, this is more in seven months than established brands such as Honda, Jaguar and Jeep have sold in 9. If this sales trend is to continue next year, then BYD could soon find itself in the top tier of EV sales in Ireland, in a very short time. 

To date it has been the Atto 3, a cross over SUV, that has dominated sales. This is a car in the mould of the Kia Nero and Hyundai Kona, which you have probably seen numerous times, but not really noticed. This seems to be in line with the BYD business model of a low key entry, establishing a firm customer base. 

So does the aftermarket need to be concerned about BYD? At this stage it is more likely that garages only need to be aware of this rapidly up and coming marque, although bodyshops may well find they need to repair a few. BYD offers a six year warranty, so realistically most cars will not stray outside the dealer network for many years. 

Perhaps one long term note of caution, is that BYD does not just put together its vehicles, it also pretty much makes every component, including the unique cobalt free blade batteries. So while the aftermarket can normally access original parts from OE component makers, this will not be the case with BYD. How this impacts on parts supply, we will have to wait and see.