PARIS – A grand piano, an intense blue sedan and, on the backdrop, images of the Earth agonizing for global warming. As if that were not enough, the location also enters the game of symbols and references: Pavillon Gabriel, in the gardens of the Champs Elisée, two hundred meters from Emmanuel Macron’s residence. In one word: in the heart of Europe. It could not be otherwise for a builder who has made a brand of the imagination: BYD, acronym for Build Your Dreams. From Saturday evening it is officially a new Chinese brand that appears in Europe.
“Our dream is to help lower the global temperature of the Earth by one degree”, says Michael Shu, general manager of BYD Europe, presenting a bet made up of three full electric models: the “Atto 3” SUV, which has already won in recent days, the European safety award, the Han sedan and the Tang 7-seater SUV, both with a powerful 500 horsepower engine. Models aimed at the high-end market, loaded with technology. Atto 3 has the infotainment screen that rotates to be read horizontally or vertically and in the doors the glove box is represented by four strings that, when touched, emit the sound of a bass guitar.
The Suv Tang has bright lines that run along the dashboard and small curiosities such as the mobile phone holder with built-in charger. The Han sedan accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometers in less than 4 seconds thanks to the power of the two electric motors arranged on the two axles. The three models have a range of 400 kilometers thanks to the Blade Battery batteries, produced by the same Chinese manufacturer. “For the moment, the models will be produced in China and exported to Europe”, explain the management of BYD, suggesting, however, that if the response from the European market is favorable, one could imagine the creation of a factory in the Old Continent even just for assembly. final, as BYD is already doing for buses in Hungary.
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The Tang SUV was first put on the market in Norway to study the reaction of European buyers, albeit high-end. “We don’t have a target for European sales in 2022,” says Penny Peng, sales manager in the Old Continent. But she notes that “in 2021, global sales of all our models were 700,000 worldwide” and she shows a graph that confirms a continuous rise for this year.
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The landing of the Chinese in Europe is certainly explained by the uncertainties that are characterizing the industry in this part of the world. Difficulty in investing and doubts about the potential of full electric have created a period of suspension and obvious gaps that are also found in the Parisian exhibition. The Chinese got stuck in that space. They did it with discretion: no dragons and spring rolls at the Pavillion Gabriel party. But European music, excellent French cuisine and champagne. Sometimes you get noticed more when you decide not to get noticed.