Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has encountered some new challenges in its global expansion push as its exports to Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia are reportedly plagued with quality issues upon arrival, according to The Wall Street Journal.
BYD executives reportedly said that the company is currently struggling with various issues overseas, including “weak market demand, too-high pricing, quality control, and internal tension over how quickly BYD should seek to grab market share.”
Reported quality issues
Despite advancing as the world’s largest electric automaker in the fourth quarter of 2023, it seems that BYD still has more to learn before expanding into big foreign markets like Europe.
According to BYD executives, their inexperience in electric vehicle technology inevitably arose in some issues it encountered amid its expansion push, including car mold management and thousands of vehicle inventory in European warehouses.
The report asserted that BYD’s export vehicles from China require some fixes and repairs upon arrival at their market destination. For instance, the EVs that landed in Japan had noticeable scratches, while those that arrived in Europe had molds.
Molds tend to occur in cars stored for a long time in humid weather. Therefore, automakers usually prepare proper treatment to fix the mold. Unfortunately, BYD has no such thing currently.
In Thailand, BYD’s EVs reportedly had paint and plastic peeling. In Israel, its EVs have warped below the weight of roof racks, as per the report.
Logistics-related issues, not manufacturing faults
The above-mentioned issues appear as logistics-related effects, not manufacturing defects. According to a BYD executive, these issues were like “going to a decent restaurant but finding that the plate is chipped.”
The BYD representative reportedly deemed the report “inconsistent” with facts, without indicating the alleged discrepancies.
“BYD is very satisfied with the achievements made by our overseas teams, including the one in Europe.”
BYD representative
The unnamed BYD representative further indicated that the Chinese electric vehicle giant has been exporting EVs for only two years and is already confident about its global expansion.
Ad-hoc vehicle fixes challenge
BYD executives reportedly expressed concerns that the ad-hoc fixes system for imported vehicles might not work for the company’s envisioned large-scale automotive business as it is only manageable for a smaller number.
Therefore, employing tight quality control throughout its global shipping route poses a new challenge for the Tesla challenger. In contrast, the Musk-led company already has a strong foundation in global electric vehicle exports. BYD had to learn the hard way that its rapid growth in China does not mean immediate success in big markets overseas, like Europe.
