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BYD is seeing a flood of new EV buyers

electrek.co

41–50 of 308 posts

Re: BYD is seeing a flood of new EV buyers

#41
post #6

It's funny to see these gas prices spike as companies are announcing they're killing their EV models here in the US.

It is worse than that. Companies are killing their EV models and discontinuing [sedans](https://www.autoblog.com/features/these-automakers-no-longer...) in favor of trucks and SUVs.

Re: BYD is seeing a flood of new EV buyers

#43
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with many of these EVs is that they were way too expensive. The main reason companies were producing them is due to regulatory requirements and how emissions standards are calculated, not necessarily because wanted to sell these EVs. What we really need are incentives for companies to build more affordable EVs. California could play a role here, but given the strong opinions we have about Elon Musk, nothi…

China and increasingly India are building very affordable EVs. You can get this guy for $7700, or full-featured models from $10,000: https://driveauthority.com/cheapest-ev-car-in-china/ All you really need is a political snap of the fingers to remove tariffs, so they can start selling them in the US. Of course, there is absolutely no way this will happen with the current administration.

Yeah seeing more and more 2W, 3W and 4W in India along with rooftop solar which government subsidizes.

Mind you I am living in a Tier 4 “city”.

Re: BYD is seeing a flood of new EV buyers

#44
post #31

Genius strategy by the USA to disincentivize EVs, disincentivize solar and wind, increase dependency on oil & gas, and...start a war that makes oil and gas more expensive for everyone. Markets are now forecasting oil prices will stay above $100 a barrel for multiple years . Best of luck to the economy.

"Strategy", you say.

Re: BYD is seeing a flood of new EV buyers

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with PHEVs is the data shows that, at scale, consumers typically use them in ICE mode vs EV mode. Its great it works for you, and hopefully BEVs kill the need for PHEVs in the next few years as the technology continues to rapidly improve around charge rate ( Plug-in hybrids use three times more fuel than manufacturers claim, analysis finds - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/18/plug-in-...…

Anecdotally, some brands are better than others. I test drove a Kia hybrid where the gas engine was pathetically underpowered and it ran constantly. Even when the battery was full it was still burning gas. I think Toyota might be the only company with a good PHEV drive-train. A Prius or Rav4 PHEV can do highway speeds on battery. And they have a heat pump so the gas engine doesn't kick in unless it gets very cold. An…

> I think Toyota might be the only company with a good PHEV drive-train.

I've lost track a bit, but Ford has a pretty comparable drivetrain (e.g. in the Escape PHEV), and Toyota is sharing their drivetrain with Mazda (e.g. the CX-50 has same drivetrain as RAV4) and Subaru has Toyota-derived drivetrains in the new Crosstrek/Forester hybrids. (Mazda/Subaru don't currently have PHEVs available for their Toyota-sourced hybrids, but that could presumably easily change.)

Availability of various models is wonky now due to US tariffs.

Re: BYD is seeing a flood of new EV buyers

#47

I finally put my money where my mouth is and bought a PHEV. In the past month I've done all my errands around town exclusively on battery power (30-40 miles per charge) from a home L1 charger. I know EV purists will complain about the complexity of maintaining the gas engine, but this hits the perfect sweet spot for me - it doesn't weigh a million tons, it cost under 40k new, and the one weekend a month when I need t…

I still feel that PHEVs combine the worst parts of both worlds.

The battery of a PHEV is relatively small and will be strained much more (as compared to an EV), especially if you drive a lot in EV modus. PHEV batteries tend to wear out faster for this reason. This drives up cost of ownership.

Then you still have the maintenance / cost of the ICE drivetrain. It does not make sense to me.

I feel that a lot of people buy vehicles because of the long-distance trips they make a few times a year. Long-distance trips are not a big deal anymore with the current status of the fast-charging stations.

Yes you may still do 600 miles on a single tank of gas with a ICE or PHEV, but you have to stop and rest, use the bathroom, drink something. Everytime you stop is a charging opportunity.

Anno 2026 there is so much choice for 'pure' EVs for the budget you stated, especially second-hand.

And then you may be able to charge at home, with solar, it's a no-brainer to me. This is possible with an PHEV too, but well, we discussed that here.

Re: BYD is seeing a flood of new EV buyers

#49
post #33

I'm sorry to be that guy, but can we reintroduce a good dose of skepticism in our mental diets? BYD was already selling a ton of cars when the oil prices were "low", of course there's some very creative accounting business moves you would expect from a Chinese company like BYD ( companies from other places have their own peculiarities too ). Gas prices have been "sky high" for a week and people who are under financia…

> Gas prices have been "sky high" for a week and people who are under financial stress just decided to ditch their cars and buy a brand new BYD? Are we children now? listening bedtime stories? Have you actually seen the news and the situation? Gas prices will continue to rise and will stay high for at least 3-5 years, given the damaged infrastructure and how long it will take to rebuild. And that's if nothing else ha…

> Have you actually seen the news and the situation?

Have you seen what's happened to wholesale power market prices? Have you seen that BYD's care sales in 2026 are down y/y?

Trusting anecdotal hype from BYD salesmen and a renewables blog isn't sensible.

Re: BYD is seeing a flood of new EV buyers

#50
post #27
post #6

It's funny to see these gas prices spike as companies are announcing they're killing their EV models here in the US.

The problem with many of these EVs is that they were way too expensive. The main reason companies were producing them is due to regulatory requirements and how emissions standards are calculated, not necessarily because wanted to sell these EVs. What we really need are incentives for companies to build more affordable EVs. California could play a role here, but given the strong opinions we have about Elon Musk, nothi…

No the regulatory requirements and emission standards have nothing to do with affordability. The only reason is just economies of scale. In fact regulatory requirements help because companies like Tesla historically sold their emission credits to other carmakers to make money.
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