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BYD launches a ‘Model 3 killer’ EV in China for half the price of Tesla’s top-selling car
The Qin L and Xpeng’s Mona M03, which are priced around US$16,500, arrive as the US company’s mainland sales are dropping
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Daniel Renin Shanghai
Top global electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD has launched a new sedan that aims to rival the features of Tesla’s Model 3 – long the mainland market’s top selling EV – for around half the price.
The Qin L starts at 119,800 yuan (US$16,517), while the basic edition of the Model 3 is priced at 235,500 yuan. Shenzhen-based BYD’s new sedan has a driving range of 545km, while the Model 3 offers 634km. Both cars feature preliminary self-driving software and a digital cockpit.
Launched on Sunday, the Qin L and Guangzhou-based Xpeng’s Mona M03 – also priced at 119,800 yuan – are mounting the most serious challenge yet to Tesla at a time when sales of the US company’s Model 3 and Model Y SUV are slowing. Tesla’s overall mainland sales fell to 30,688 units last month, down 51.5 per cent from January and 49.2 per cent from a year earlier.
“BYD has already impressed most Chinese drivers as a maker of reliable electric cars, and its new products that are affordable to middle- and low-income consumers will lure some Tesla fans away from its Model 3 and Model Y,” said Tian Maowei, a sales manager at Yiyou Auto Service in Shanghai. “As it enjoys a pricing advantage, Qin L will easily generate thousands of deliveries a month.”
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