BYD: PHEV is more suitable for market than BEV currently

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On December 15, BYD officials said in an interview that since there are not enough charging piles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) seem more suitable for the current market.

In 2016, the new energy vehicle (NEV) sales of China reached 500,000 units, of which 200,000 were commercial vehicles and the rest were passenger vehicles. If the sales of A00 vehicles are excluded, there is little gap between the sales of PHEV and battery electric vehicles (BEV).

Many automakers put great importance on plug-in hybrid vehicles not just because of the inadequate charging piles but also because of battery’s higher price. It is deemed by the industry that only when BEV’s price is reduced to around 30,000 dollars and BEV’s range reach up to 600km, BEV will defeat PHEV.

In the interview, BYD also revealed that the company has got in touch with many customers for battery sales. It may start to sell batteries to other companies next year. Several days ago, Li Qin, board secretary of BYD, said that the company has started to sell its battery products to other companies. The company’s battery products had been for in-house needs for a long time.

According to BYD, even though the NEV sales of the first quarter declined, the company is still confident that the annual sales will show steady growth. As more and more regulations on NEV market come out and the industry becomes more and more concentrated, China’s NEV market is expected to keep steady and rapid growth.