Chinese automotive giant BYD has landed a ship in Australia loaded with 5000 hybrid and electric cars. The manufacturer rebooted its plans for Australia during the fuel price supply crisis that gripped motorists earlier this year, electing to send one of its ships to Australia for the first time.
BYD's Strategic Move
BYD Asia Pacific group general manager, Liu Xueliang, told reporters in April that conflict in the Middle East and resulting fuel supply fears “completely changed people’s view around energy supply,” accelerating demand for EVs. “To satisfy the growing demand … in May and June, we’re going to be expecting 30,000 vehicles arriving in Australia,” he said at the time. Those vehicles have started to reach Australia. Thousands of them are docked in Melbourne, aboard the BYD Zhengzhou car carrier.
Company Response
BYD Australia chief operating officer, Stephen Collins said in May that the ship demonstrates the company’s ability to “respond quickly to customer needs”. “BYD’s vertically integrated system allows it to scale production as required, with a fleet of BYD-owned vessels ready to take cars wherever they need to go almost anywhere in the world,” he said. “BYD is truly unique in this way and Australian customers are benefiting directly as demand increases for innovative new energy vehicles that are affordable and cost-effective to run.”
Market Impact
BYD has been a driving force in making China the number one supplier of new cars to Australia, accelerating past nations such as Korea, Thailand and Japan. The company surged to second on the sales charts in April, with only Toyota ranked ahead. This week’s delivery of 5000 cars will help close the gap to Toyota, which currently sits at about 7400 cars. If Toyota has a tough month in June, BYD could spring a surprise to become the number one brand in Australia.
Dealer Network
The brand is backed in Australia by one of the nation’s largest dealer groups, Eagers Automotive. Eagers Automotive director Nick Politis, who also serves as chair of the Sydney Roosters NRL team, recently bought a $1m BYD YangWang U9 Xtreme supercar capable of reaching 296km/h. “It’s a great marketing thing,” Politis said at the Beijing motor show in April. “We’ll move it around all our major BYD showrooms, and I’m sure there’ll be people lining up to see it. To see the fastest car in the world will attract a lot of people and expose them to our BYD products.”
