BYD, the Chinese vehicle company that has surpassed Tesla as the best-selling EV maker on several occasions, is making plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) a major part of its new energy vehicle strategy. Although the Shenzhen, China-based company is now known as one of the largest battery electric vehicle (BEV) companies in the world, BYD’s first foray into new energy vehicles was a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the BYD F3DM, launched in 2008 as the first mass-produced PHEV in the world.
The automaker has now updated its strategy to increase its focus on PHEVs and even hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (HFCVs) and make them as prominent as BEVs on its product lines. This is largely in response to dwindling consumer demand for pure electric cars and rising curiosity for alternative energy cars that aren’t fully electric. Increasing its output of hybrid cars could help BYD tap into the growing share of customers who are interested in non-internal combustion engine cars but aren’t willing to go fully electric.
While a battery electric car draws all its power from the onboard battery pack, hybrids leverage battery packs and internal combustion engines (ICE). This reduces their carbon emission savings but it extends the range by an incredibly wide margin, making hybrids as convenient to use as regular ICE cars. For drivers who want to go electric but have been held back by range anxiety, hybrids present the best of both worlds: the convenience of operating a gas-powered car and the emissions savings associated with an electric car.
According to the company, it made the pivot after it realized that many drivers still haven’t bought into the idea of owning a fully electrified vehicle. Range anxiety is a barrier to adoption for many drivers, particularly those in regions that lack robust public charging infrastructure. Individuals who have owned and used gasoline and diesel-powered cars for a long time may find the switch to fully electric cars quite complicated.
For these reasons, BYD will develop more hybrid cars that would enable drivers to enjoy some of the benefits of electric mobility without losing the convenience associated with fossil fuel-powered cars. It has a proprietary PHEV technology dubbed DM-i and is already selling a PHEV using the technology in the European market with two additional models in the production pipeline. To avoid import tariffs placed on Chinese-made electric cars and remain price competitive, BYD will construct its vehicles in European nations like Hungary and Turkey.
It has also partnered with an American firm, Robert’s Hawaii, to produce hydrogen fuel cell buses that would run at the Honolulu airport in Hawaii as part of a Hawaii project dubbed the Clean Energy Initiative. These moves are part of BYD’s broader plan to diversify its clean mobility offerings while adapting to market realities. The company seems determined to position itself as a global leader in multiple green mobility technologies, not just BEVs.
As market conditions continue to evolve, all eyes will be on entities like Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) to assess how they tweak their strategies to cope with those changing conditions in the U.S. and global automotive landscape.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN
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