Japan's Ministry of Trade has invited several of the country's car brands to dismantle cars from China's BYD. Many do not understand how the Chinese can make such cheap electric cars.
Japan's auto industry was early on with electric cars, but Chinese manufacturers like BYD have since caught up with them with models like the Atto 3. To understand the success of competitors, Japanese companies have studied electric cars from BYD, Nio and Tesla.
This is written by the Nikkei news agency.
A central question for the Japanese engineers is the price. The BYD Atto 3 costs from DKK 285,095 in Denmark, but the basic model in China costs only DKK 130,000. "How can it be manufactured so cheaply?" the participants wondered, according to the Nikkei.
The answer lies partly in BYD's production strategy. They manufacture almost all of the car's components themselves, which gives them greater control over costs. In addition, they integrate several components into one unit, which saves space, weight and money.
But the Japanese are not only impressed. They also question the quality, especially the waterproofing of the battery.
– Chinese manufacturers place great emphasis on cheap production. But their view of quality is quite different compared to Japanese manufacturers," says Kenichi Ito, who was behind the event.
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This statement reflects a general concern among Japanese automakers. While they recognize the ability of the Chinese to produce cheap EVs, they don't quite understand how they can maintain high quality with such an aggressive pricing strategy.
The Japanese companies now face a challenge. They need to find a way to compete with the cheap Chinese electric cars without compromising the quality they are known for.
However, others will also think that a brand like BYD can keep the price so far down because the Chinese state illegally pumps money into the industry. In fact, according to investigations, BYD is one of the brands that has received the most illegal state aid. Read more about it here .
The illegal state aid has just caused the EU to react. The consequence is punitive duties on top of the 10 percent duty that the Chinese brands and car brands in general pay to get cars built in China into the EU.
Read more exciting news from and about the world of cars right here!
