As England play their final group game of their Euro 2024 campaign against Slovenia this evening, there’s already one winner from this summer’s festival of football… China.
BYD, the official automotive partner of this year’s UEFA European Football Championship, has already scored big as car buyers across Britain have ramped up searches for its electric vehicles (EVs) having seen branding plastered pitch side and its TV adverts at half time over the last 12 days.
But there are still some big questions that remain for British motorists about this relatively little-know brand, including what doe BYD stand for, what cars does it sell in the UK and are its EVs any good? We’ve answered them below…
There’s already one very big winner at Euro 2024 – and it is a Chinese car company you’ve probably never heard of…
BYD is the official e-mobility partner of the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament – and Auto Trader says the deal is already paying dividends as there’s been a big spike in UK drivers searching for the Chinese cars for sale
Auto Trader, the UK’s largest new and used car marketplace, says that the opening weekend of Euro 2024 – from Friday and Sunday – saw views of BYD models on its site soar by 69 per cent compared to a week earlier.
Some 26,000 BYD car adverts were viewed as drivers looked up the unfamiliar brand they had spotted on advertising hoardings around the edge of pitches during the first seven games of the tournament.
This included more than 10 million UK viewers who tuned into the opening game between Germany and Scotland.
As of Friday, Auto Trader says views have softened slightly, but remain over 53 per cent higher than before the tournament kicked off.
In fact, during the month of June, BYD’s Seal EV has become the second most viewed new electric car on the website, just behind Hyundai’s Ioniq5.
And there are other impressive UK-based stats around the up-and-coming Chinese brand which is already going toe-to-toe with Tesla in the race to be the biggest global EV manufacturer.
Some 26,000 BYD car adverts were viewed as drivers looked up the unfamiliar brand they had spotted on advertising hoardings around the edge of pitches during the first seven games of the tournament
Build Your Dreams – unless you’re Scottish, that is. Pictured: Kevin Csoboth of Hungary scoring in the final minutes to knock Scotland out of the competition on Sunday 23 June with BYD adverts on the digital displays around pitch side
A stand of the Chinese car manufacturer BYD at the official UEFA Fan Zone prior the Group F match between Portugal and Czechia on 18 June
The EV maker is hugely prominent both at the 10 stadiums used during the tournament and TV advertising during matches
Auto Trader says that ahead of Euro 2024, BYD had already jumped to the fifth most popular new electric brand on its site this year, accounting for a 5.6 per cent share of all new EV advert views.
Since the tournament started on 14 June, however, BYD is the second most viewed manufacturer for EV models – behind BMW but ahead of Tesla in fourth.
With the brand still largely unknown among UK car buyers, BYD is currently converting a ‘more conservative share of leads’, Auto Trader says.
At present, just 2.9 per cent of views are translating to actual purchases.
However, with the tournament set to enter the exciting knock-out phase and more viewers tuning into the Euros, Auto Trader expects to see that conversion rate increase in the coming weeks.
‘Our traffic data shows that this tournament is already triggering a step-change in awareness of BYD little more than a year after they entered the UK market,’ says Erin Baker, editorial director at Auto Trader.
‘This high-profile media partnership only underlines their ambitions in Europe where they face tough competition from the well-established legacy brands.
‘BYD’s sales are growing rapidly, albeit from a low base, and the Euros partnership has the potential to cement them in the public consciousness.’
Commenting on its sponsorship deal back in January, Michael Shu, managing director of BYD Europe, said the Chinese car company is ‘thrilled’ to be an official partner of Euro 2024 and the firm would ‘showcase its latest advancements in electric vehicles to a far-reaching audience’.
He added: ‘Significantly, the partnership underlines BYD’s brand commitment to reducing carbon emissions for a greener future, for which UEFA Euro 2024 will provide an influential voice.’
Below are answers to questions you might have about BYD…
BYD stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’, which reflects the company’s efforts to combat climate change, apparently…
What does BYD stand for?
BYD stands for Build Your Dreams.
The name is said to reflect the brand’s efforts to combat climate change.
‘With the slogan Build Your Dreams, the company was inaugurated in 1995 from the dream of its founder, Mr. Wang Chuanfu, to allow China to grow without pollution through clean energy,’ according to the group.
BYD officially entered the UK market in March 2023 with the Atto 3 SUV – but it has already increased its model line-up to three cars
Where is BYD based?
BYD’s headquarters are located in Shenzhen, Guangdong.
When did BYD enter the UK market?
It first began selling its Atto 3 SUV in March 2023.
How many BYD cars have been sold in Britain?
From March 2023 to the end of May 2024, official registration figures show that 3,365 BYD cars have been purchased in the UK.
At the end of last year, BYD overtook Tesla to become the world’s biggest EV seller. But the brand is still relatively unknown in the UK
How many cars does BYD sell globally?
In the EV sphere, BYD is fighting with Tesla to be the biggest global player.
In the final three months of 2023, Elon Musk’s American car brand sold 484,500 vehicles globally. In the same period, BYD shipped 526,000.
The three BYD EVs sold in Britain currently: Left to right, Atto 3, Seal and Dolphin
Which models do BYD sell in the UK currently?
BYD currently offers three different EV models to UK customers: Atto 3, Dolphin and the new Seal.
Are BYD cars cheap?
The Dolphin compact hatchback is the least expensive, starting from £30,195 currently – though a £25,500 entry model with a smaller battery pack has been touted.
The larger Atto 3 SUV rings in from £37,695 while the latest Seal family saloon is the priciest from £45,695.
While these prices are still relatively expensive, they’re still cheaper than most European rivals.
For example, the most obvious competition for the Dolphin in terms of size, range and features is VW’s ID.3 – and the Volkswagen is around £5,500 more expensive for a like-for-like model.
Like Tesla, the Chinese conglomerate makes its own batteries, which partly helps it to keep costs low.
And because it’s a Chinese brand, it current benefits from substantial domestic subsidies.
Prices could rise soon, though, as the EU plans to sting Chinese EVs coming to the UK with tariffs of almost 50 per cent, varying by brand.
BYD is to be hit with a provisional 17.4 per cent additional tariff taking the total taxation on imports to 27.4 per cent.
Our pick of the BYD cars on sale currently is the Dolphin, which also happens to be the cheapest…
Are BYD cars any good?
Our pick of the three currently on sale is the BYD Dolphin – a five-seat hatchback with front wheel drive and the choice of four front-wheel drive variants.
Entry-level Active (expected to be priced from £25,490) combines a 44.9kWh battery with a 70kW (95hp) electric motor for an estimated range of 211 miles.
The two trims currently sold – Comfort (£29,490) and Design (£30,999) – have the more powerful 60.4kWh battery and 150kW (204hp) electric motor combination, giving a sprightly 0 to 62mph acceleration of seven seconds up to a top speed limited to 99mph, but a 265-mile range — enough to get from London to Middlesbrough.
The Design model has a glass roof, rear privacy glass, and wireless smartphone charging.
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