China’s electric vehicle (EV) sector is witnessing an intensifying price war, with BYD at the centre of a dispute involving emissions compliance and competitive pricing, as rivals Great Wall and Geely voice their concerns.
The dispute, which began in 2023 over allegations that BYD’s top hybrid models did not meet emissions standards, has escalated as Geely publicly supported Great Wall’s claims.
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The price war has further strained relationships within the industry, with BYD’s aggressive pricing strategy leading to a broader impact on auto stocks.
Great Wall’s chairman, Wei Jianjun, has been vocal about the industry’s health and the ongoing regulatory investigation into BYD’s emissions compliance.
Despite BYD’s dismissal of these concerns as “alarmist”, the company has not directly addressed the emissions issue.
“Wei Jianjun is a genuine, honest person and is our industry’s whistleblower,” Yang said in videos of his speech posted online by The Paper and other local media outlets.
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By GlobalDataAt a recent auto conference, Geely’s vice president Victor Yang, backed Great Wall’s allegations, claiming that their independent tests concurred with the emissions concerns.
This public stance by Geely has added fuel to the fire in the ongoing dispute between the leading EV makers.
In response to the criticism, BYD’s general manager of branding and public relations, Li Yunfei, took to Weibo to defend the company’s use of non-pressurised fuel tanks in its Qin Plus and Song Plus plug-in hybrids.
Li stated that these tanks complied with regulations at the time but acknowledged that BYD had updated them following customer complaints.
However, Li’s post was later removed, and the company has not provided further comments.
The feud between these automotive giants comes as China’s EV market is already facing intense competition.
BYD’s recent price cuts, which saw the starting price of its cheapest model drop to 55,800 yuan ($7,771.05), have led to a sell-off in auto stocks.
In response to the escalating price war, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) summoned automakers to a meeting, urging the sector to refrain from further price reductions and to address inventory issues raised by dealers.
