Etiqueta: EV

BYD’s YangWang U9 Extreme broke the 300 mph barrier earlier this month in Germany.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is no longer a shareholder in Chinese electric vehicle behemoth BYD, ending an investment that first started in 2008 and delivered billions of dollars in returns to the American investment giant.

BARCELONA (Reuters) -When Javier Hernandez went car shopping in Barcelona, he ended up choosing a plug-in hybrid by China's BYD - swayed by a price nearly 10,000 euros cheaper than European rivals. With government subsidies, the BYD Seal U DM-I Hernandez opted for starts at around 30,000 euros ($35,289) in Spain, compared to over 40,000 euros for VW's Tiguan and Peugeot's 3008 plug-in hybrid models. Cost-conscious buyers like Hernandez are fuelling rapid growth for Chinese EV carmakers like BYD in Spain and around Europe, stepping up competition with regional and U.S. rivals like Tesla, Stellantis and Volkswagen.

Over the weekend, BYD announced on a RedNote livestream that the U9 Xtreme version has now broken the overall production car top speed record, clocking in at 496.22 km/h (308.37 mph). The car had just set the EV top speed record of 472.41 km/h a few weeks ago.  In addition, in its first test at the Nürburgring, it set the EV lap record at 6:59.157. BYD also implied that the top speed was limited by the 500 km/h-rated tires, as the car was still accelerating at the recorded speed. And the lap time was also just the start, with the car electronically limited to 350 km/h.

At the recently concluded IAA Mobility auto show in Munich, BYD, China's electric vehicle giant, outlined its roadmap for solidifying its position as the world's top EV manufacturer. With a three-pronged approach — global-scale sales, localized supply chains, and rapid-charging technology — BYD is accelerating its international expansion and distancing itself from rivals, including Tesla.