BYD is stealing Toyota’s limelight in this key auto market with low-priced EVs
China’s largest EV maker, BYD, is quickly making a name for itself in overseas markets. Despite recently entering the Thai auto market, BYD has already surpassed several Japanese rivals in sales as it sneaks up on Toyota’s spotlight.
Japanese automakers have dominated the auto market in Thailand in recent years, with Toyota, Isuzu, and Honda currently the top-selling brands in the region.
Yet BYD, which entered the market in July 2022, is charging full steam ahead. BYD already accounts for over a third of EV sales and roughly 4% of new vehicle sales in Thailand, according to Autolife Thailand.
The Chinese EV maker surpassed Japanese competitors, including Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda, and Suzuki, in total vehicle sales.
A big reason for BYD’s success in Thailand and other markets like Brazil, Columbia, and Israel is its low-cost pricing.
BYD may have an advantage
BYD can produce EVs much cheaper than traditional automakers, passing the savings on to customers. The automaker started as a battery company, later getting into cell phone assembly.
Today, BYD is the largest global supplier of rechargeable batteries, arguably the most critical component in the industry’s transition to EVs.
The company even outsources to other automakers, including Tesla, Toyota, Kia, and others. BYD is “more like an engineering company,” according to BYD America CEO Stella Li.
As such, the company has transformed into a heavily integrated conglomerate. With specific divisions for every component, BYD makes nearly part in-house. For example, on the Dolphin EV, BYD builds all parts-house except the tires and windows.
BYD encroaching on Toyota’s Thailand market
In Thailand, Rever Automotive has exclusive dealership rights. The company is reportedly trying to convince dealers with less popular brands like Mazda to switch to BYD.
BYD’s Atto 3 (Yuan Plus in China) is the top-selling EV in Thailand, with prices around $30,000 to $33,000. Rever also sells the SEAL for around $36,000, while the low-cost Dolphin electric hatch is priced slightly under $20,000.
BYD’s EVs seem like a steal compared to other brands’ electric models. For example, Toyota’s bZ4X electric SUV costs around $50,000, Tesla’s Model 3 costs around $47,000, and even the Nissan LEAF costs $43,000 or more.
Electrek’s Take
Thailand is moving quickly to adopt electric vehicles, leaving those who don’t want to participate behind.
Thailand’s government wants 30% of vehicles built in the country to be electric by the end of the decade. EVs now account for over 10% of total auto sales in Thailand, up from around 1% last year.
Toyota recently tested its first electric truck in Australia. The HiLux BEV truck was built in Thailand and will be used to assemble a demonstration fleet of HiLux-based electric share taxis.
However, there’s no word on when it will launch, and Toyota is quickly falling behind in EV sales in the region.
BYD launched the Dolphin in Toyota’s home market of Japan last month, starting at ¥3.63 million ($24,200) with 250 miles range (400km). The Dolphin will join the Atto 3 as BYD’s second EV in the region as it looks to take on Toyota on its home turf. Toyota will need to get moving if it doesn’t want to risk falling further behind.
Source: Asia Times
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The first electric Range Rover is expected to hit showrooms in the next few months. With its official debut just around the corner, Range Rover’s first EV was spotted testing in Sweden. Here’s a sneak peek of the luxury electric SUV.
Range Rover’s first EV put through the paces in Sweden
Range Rover is finally gearing up to introduce its first EV later this year. Earlier this year, JLR confirmed that the Range Rover Electric already has 57,000 buyers on the waiting list.
The company claims the new model “redefines” the electric luxury SUV with an “unrivalled driving experience.” To prove it, Range Rover is putting its first EV through the paces in sub-zero conditions in Sweden.
Range Rover’s electric SUV has been through 45,000 miles of testing across frozen lakes and land tracks. The latest round allowed engineers to test their new thermal management system.
The company’s new ThermAssist thermal management system reduces heat energy consumption by up to 40% and is designed to warm the propulsion system or cabin in temperatures as low as ‑10°C (14°F).
Range Rover said it also helps optimize driving range while minimizing the impact of extreme temperatures on charging performance.
Combined with an 800V battery, the first one built in-house by JLR, the company promises the best possible performance, with optimized energy density, range, and charging times. The Range Rover’s first EV will be powered by a 117 kWh battery, consisting of 344 prismatic cells.
Built for both on- and off-road performance, the electric SUV features new additions like single-pedal driving and a switchable twin-chamber air suspension system.
Range Rover tested the single-pedal capabilities on both 28-degree and 17-degree split-mu inclines at its Arctic test facility.
Matt Becker, Vehicle Engineering Director at JLR, explained that the electric SUV maintains the brand’s signature driving experience “by marrying all the essential Range Rover elements with new and advanced technologies.”
Following its second season in Sweden, Range Rover will continue testing prototypes ahead of the official launch later this year.
After its first EV, Range Rover is already preparing another smaller electric SUV, which is expected to be the Sport model. In 2026, the company is expected to release a mid-sized electric SUV, likely the Velar.
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Volvo is launching a nearly $2 billion (SEK 18 billion) restructuring plan to drive growth and mitigate the impact of Trump’s tariffs. With the new EX30 and ES90 EVs rolling out, Volvo is taking drastic action to drive growth.
Volvo launches restructuring plan due to Trump’s tariffs
After its operating income fell by nearly 60% to SEK 1.9 billion in the first quarter, Volvo launched a cost and cash action plan.
The restructuring is worth SEK 18 billion, with most of it being realized in 2026. Volvo’s new strategy includes SEK 3 billion in variable cost actions and SEK 5 billion in indirect spend efficiencies. The additional SEK 10 billion will be added in cash actions to reduce working capital and capital expenditures this year and in 2026.
Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson said, “The automotive industry is in the middle of a very difficult period with challenges not seen before.”
With “turbulence in the market,” Samuelsson added that the company needs to “further improve our cash flow generation and lower our costs.”
To do so, Volvo is focusing on three areas: profitability, electrification, and regionalisation. Volvo is already leading the premium segment, with electrified vehicles accounting for 43% of sales in Q1. However, with new EVs launching, Volvo said more will need to be done to overcome the impact of Trump’s tariffs.
Volvo created a new region called Americas, which includes the US, Canada, and Latin America, to streamline its global operations.
In the US, the company is looking to sharpen its product line-up and plans to boost production at its Charleston, South Carolina, plant.
Earlier this month, Volvo started production of the EX30 at its Ghent plant, which will help it ramp up deliveries in the second half of 2025.
Since it will be imported into the US, Volvo is bracing to take a hit from tariffs. Even the EX90, which is made in Charleston, is heavily impacted, as most components still come from Europe.
Volvo also revealed the new ES90 last month, its new electric sedan and second EV built on the Volvo Cars Superset Tech Stack. It’s Volvo’s sixth fully electric vehicle following the EX90, EM90, EX40, EX40, and EX30.
In China, Volvo plans to adapt to the changing market with its first extended-range PHEV model, which will launch later this year.
Volvo said it remains “firm on becoming a fully electric car company.” Despite a weaker overall market, almost a fifth of the vehicles it sold in the first quarter were electric.
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In a warming world with increasingly extreme weather events, homeowners are turning to backup batteries for relief and peace of mind. But the backup only lasts only so long, and there’s a bigger problem at play: aging power grids.
Enter the virtual power plant, managed through a cloud-based system. It’s a fertile market for a number of companies as consumers look for more reliability, especially in areas prone to extreme temperatures and storms.
Base Power, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is a virtual power plant and hardware company that provides battery backup to homeowners. The startup manages the batteries, and virtually controls the power that’s going in and out.
“We install our batteries on our customers’ homes. When the grid is up and running, we use those batteries to support the power grid,” said Base CEO Zach Dell. “When the grid goes out, our customers get those batteries to back up their home. We’re also able to save our customers on the order of 10 to 20% a month on their electricity bills.”
Unlike Tesla and Enphase, Base doesn’t sell home backup batteries. Rather, it rents the batteries to homeowners, providing the hardware, software, installation, operations and electricity. Essentially, it’s a battery-based energy company.
“We own and operate it,” Dell said. “We handle all the maintenance. We take care of the system like it’s ours.”
That control allows Base to manipulate how the battery is used, specifically accessing cheaper power and passing that savings on to the consumer. Base charges the battery from the grid when demand is low, typically during overnight hours. When demand is at its peak — summer evenings and winter mornings — Base sells power, discharging the battery to support the grid.
For an upfront fee of $595 and then about $19 a month, homeowners get access to reliable power, provided by Base. That power is generated by several sources, including wind, solar, natural gas and coal. About half of Base’s customers have solar, according to the company, which lowers their costs even more and allows them to sell that power back to Base.
A company spokesperson said Base compensates customers for the power they sell back, calculated as the real-time wholesale energy price plus an additional 3 cents per kilowatt hour. Buyback rates may vary depending on market conditions and other factors.
Base is now serving one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, Lennar, which is also an investor. Base installs batteries during the construction process in roughly 20 Lennar outage-prone communities in Texas.
Stuart Miller, Chairman and co-CEO of Lennar, said it’s not just about making money.
“It’s, are we going to be able to improve the overall stature of the home building business, as it seeks to address the markets that are stressed and having problems?” he said. “Utilities and electricity is a part of that.”
Base has raised a total of $268 million from investors including Lennar, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Andreesen Horowitz.
Base recently announced its first utility partnership near San Antonio. Dell said the company hopes to soon expand outside of Texas. However, the batteries are made in China, and Dell said he expects to see an impact from tariffs.
— CNBC producer Lisa Rizzolo contributed to this piece.
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