BYD will not raise car prices, says official

Shanghai, May 22 (Gasgoo.com) BYD Automobile Co, a Shenzhen-headquartered homegrown automaker in China, said that it will not raise vehicle prices as some other domestic automakers do.

"As we entered the Chinese car market a little bit later other automakers, we are not in a good position to raise prices, "said Xia Zhibing, general manager of BYD Auto Sales Co.

He said the company will continue to reduce costs through boosting its business scale so as to combat rising materials prices, and in this way it hopes to further tap into the competitive market in China.

Under this guideline, one of BYD's new models, the F3R At, will continue to carry a a price tag of 90,000 yuan ($13,000) as initially announced when it is launched by the end of this month.

Though it is a homegrown automaker with thin profits, BYD has donated 13 million yuan in cash, plus 1,000 hoisting jacks, to help the disaster relief following the massive deadly earthquake in Sichuan province on May 12.