BYD says EVs have entered the ‘knockout round’ with next-gen tech rolling out
Global EV leader BYD believes new energy vehicles, including EVs and PHEVs, have entered the “knockout round” with gas-powered cars. BYD plans to more than double its overseas sales this year, as it aims for one million in 2025.
Let the “liberation battle” begin
After declaring a “liberation battle” against gas-powered cars earlier this year, BYD, or Build Your Dreams, is putting pressure on overseas rivals.
During an investor meeting on Wednesday, BYD’s CEO, Wang Chaunfu, said it will launch its next-gen hybrid tech offering over 1,200 miles (2,000 km) range. We reported earlier this month that BYD looks to crush gas-powered car sales with its newest platform.
Most BYD vehicles are based on its e-Platform 3.0, an advanced 8-in-1 electric powertrain with integrated Blade batteries.
By building nearly all vehicle components, including batteries, in-house, BYD has a major advantage over rivals. BYD can offer low-cost EVs, like the new Seagull, starting under $10,000 (69,800 yuan) and still make a profit.
Its next-gen DM-i system will enable an even more range at a lower cost. According to a new Yicai report (translated), Chaunfu said BYD will launch its next-gen DM-i platform in May.
BYD believes EVs, PHEVs entered the “knockout round”
Chaunfu added that he believes EVs and PHEVs have “entered the knockout round” and that the next two years will be critical for automakers to scale, reduce costs, and introduce new tech.
As new electric cars roll out in China, BYD sees joint venture brands (overseas automakers) market share falling from 40% to 10%. The 30% offers room for Chinese brands to grow.
BYD is using an “overseas + localization” strategy to expand the brand. For example, BYD is building a plant in Hungary that will “be Europe, for Europe.” BYD’s European leader said the plant will “be closer to customers, offering faster deliveries, and people will trust us more.”
Chaunfu said BYD aims to sell 500,000 vehicles overseas this year, more than double the 240,000 handed over last year. By 2025, BYD sees overseas sales reaching 1 million.
BYD’s first vehicle transport ship, the BYD Explorer No. 1, landed in Germany last month as the automaker expands its overseas footprint.
Meanwhile, after launching in Japan last year, BYD already accounted for 20% of Japan’s EV imports in January, a market dominated by Toyota.
The automaker launched a “liberation battle” with drastic price cuts and new lower-priced models earlier this year.
BYD says its main competition is gas-powered vehicles and joint venture brands. Several of its most popular EVs, including the Dolphin and Seagull, were updated with lower prices. Its cheapest EV, the Seagull, starts at just $9,700.
Electrek’s Take
BYD has already sent shockwaves throughout the industry with the new Seagull EV starting under $10,000.
Ford’s CEO Jim Farley called the Seagull “pretty damn good,” as he warned rivals. Farley said at the Wolfe Research Conference last month that if automakers fail to keep up with the Chinese, like BYD, “20% to 30% of your revenue is at risk.” In response, Ford is shifting from larger to smaller, more affordable EVs.
How will automakers react to a new platform that will cut costs even further? With new tech and models rolling out, BYD expects to steal even more market share from gas vehicles over the next few years.
Although many pit BYD and Tesla against each other because they are the leading EV makers, BYD sees Tesla as a respected industry partner. Its main target is gas-powered vehicles.
BYD is best known for its affordable EVs, such as the Dolphin, Atto 3, and Seagull, but it’s expanding into new segments, including mid-size SUVs and luxury models.
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The all-electric luxury electric SUV is getting significantly cheaper. Lexus launched a new entry-level 2025 RZ trim with starting prices over $10,000 less than last year’s model. And you get just as much driving range.
2025 Lexus RZ electric SUV prices and driving range
Lexus launched its first dedicated EV last year, the RZ electric SUV. Starting at $55,175, the 2024 Lexus RZ 300e has a range of up to 266 miles.
The 2024 RZ 450e AWD, equipped with its dual-moto DIRECT4 system, has a range of up to 196 miles. Prices start at just under $60,000. Both models are offered in Premium or Luxury packages.
Lexus is drastically lowering prices for the 2025 model year. The 2025 Lexus RZ starts at $43,975, and that includes the $1,175 delivery fee.
At under $44,000, prices for the 2025 RZ start at over $10,000 less than last year’s model. The lower price tag comes as Lexus added a new entry-level RZ 300e FWD trim to the lineup.
The 2025 Lexus RZ 300e FWD still has an EPA-estimated 266-mile range (18″ wheels), so despite the lower price, it’s no loss from last year’s model. It’s powered by a 72.8 kWh battery pack from global leader CATL.
Lexus modified the subframe for the FWD model, replacing the rear eAxle from the AWD model. The result is a quieter, smoother drive.
Powered by a 71.4 kWh battery, the 2025 RZ 450e AWD has an EPA-estimated driving range of up to 220 miles (18″ wheels).
| 2025 Lexus RZ model | Starting Price* | EPA-estimated Driving Range |
| RZ 450e AWD | $48,675 | 220 miles |
| RZ 450e Premium AWD w/ 18″ Wheel | $52,875 | 220 miles |
| RZ 450e Premium AWD w/ 20″ Wheel | $54,115 | 196 miles |
| RZ 450e Luxury AWD | $58,605 | 220 miles |
| RZ 300e FWD | $43,975 | 266 miles |
| RZ 300e Premium FWD w/ 18″ Wheel | $48,175 | 266 miles |
| RZ 300e Premium FWD w/ 20″ Wheel | $49,415 | 224 miles |
| RZ 300e Luxury FWD | $53,905 | 266 miles |
The 2025 Lexus RZ is available in three grades. These include the new entry-level model, in addition to the current Premium and Luxury trims.
Inside, the electric SUV has a minimalistic feel with a standard 14″ infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support at the center.
You can also opt for the available 10″ head-up display (HUD), Mark Levinson Surround Sound System, and a host of safety features.
The flat platform provides a spacious interior with 37.52″ of rear legroom, nearly as much as the second row of a Ford Explorer (39″).
With the 2025 model arriving at dealerships soon, Lexus is offering closeout prices on 2024 models with up to $18,500 in lease cash discounts. You can use our link to find the best offers on the Lexus RZ at a dealer near you today.
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Environment
‘Political malpractice’ if Trump undoes climate-geared Biden projects, outgoing U.S. energy secretary says
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks to the media on day five at the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference on November 15, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images
A potential decision by Donald Trump to walk back the Biden administration’s climate-geared projects would impact jobs in areas governed by the President-elect’s own party, outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNBC, urging consistency in Washington’s green transition policies.
Referencing the White House’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement — a 2015 treaty in which nearly 200 governments made non-binding pledges to reduce greenhouse emissions — during Trump’s first mandate, Granholm said the U.S. pressed ahead with projects linked to the green transition that members of Congress wanted to undertake in their districts.
“We are now building all of these projects. We’re building batteries for electric vehicles, we’re building the vehicles, we’re building the offshore wind turbines, we’re building the solar panels. And all of those are factories. And those factories are in districts of members of Congress,” she told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Friday at the COP29 U.N. climate conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
She estimated that 80% of the funding from U.S. President Joe Biden’s legacy bills — the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — went to U.S. districts represented by Republican leadership.
“It would be political malpractice to undo those opportunities when people are just now getting hired,” she said, stressing benefits to the manufacturing sector and noting that the business community of the world’s largest economy and oil producer now wants a clear course from Washington on its climate policy.
“This isn’t about in [the Paris Agreement], out, shifting back and forth. Let’s have a consistent practice,” she said.
When asked for a response on Granholm’s comments, Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, said the president-elect will “deliver” on the promises he made on the campaign trail.
International focus has now shifted on the shape of the U.S.’ future role in global climate policy, as Trump prepares to take the helm at the White House for a second mandate in January, following a sweeping victory against Democrat candidate Kamala Harris. Trump — who has yet to announce his own pick to lead the U.S. Department of Energy — put hydrocarbons at the front and center of his campaigning agenda, pledging to “end Biden’s delays in federal drilling permits and leases that are needed to unleash American oil and natural gas production.”
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in March said that the country already “produced more crude oil than any nation at any time” for the past six years to 2023, averaging a crude oil and condensate production of 12.9 million barrels per day that year — breaking the previous U.S. and global record of 12.3 million barrels per day recorded in 2019, during Trump’s first mandate.
Yet Granholm on Friday stressed that the clean transition is also “unleashed” and will take place regardless of who is leading the White House — and that ignoring climate change risks sacrificing Washington’s position as a frontrunner in the blooming decarbonization industry.
“Why would we take a second, a backseat to an economic competitor like China?” she asked. “They have an economic strategy, they want to be number one. So if we get out of the game, we’re just going to cede that territory all over again. It’s bad strategy for the United States and for workers and for communities across the country.”
As the world braces for the possibility of a second U.S. exit from the Paris Agreement, some climate activists note that the green transition has now gained a different global momentum than during Trump’s first turn at the White House:
“There is no denying that another Trump presidency will stall national efforts to tackle the climate crisis and protect the environment, but most U.S. state, local, and private sector leaders are committed to charging ahead,” Dan Lashof, U.S. director of the World Resources Institute, said in a Nov. 6 statement.
“Donald Trump heading back to the White House won’t be a death knell to the clean energy transition that has rapidly picked up pace these last four years.”
Granholm also identified potential support in Trump’s current entourage, which this week welcomed business tycoon Elon Musk as the president-elect’s choice to head a new Department of Government Efficiency, alongside conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy:
“His right-hand man, Elon Musk, is somebody who has been strongly in favor of products that … address climate change. Obviously, he’s the founder of Tesla,” Granholm pointed out.
Musk’s environmental stance has come under question over the years, shifting from telling Rolling Stone magazine that “climate change is the biggest threat that humanity faces this century, except for AI” and backing carbon taxes to holding that the world needs hydrocarbon supplies as a bridge to renewable energy.
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