"In China, BYD is currently building 4,000 1.5MW charging stations across the country, with plans to roll out 20,000 by the end of this year.
Although not quite as ambitious, a BYD spokesperson for the European side of the business told me that the company is targeting 2,000 1.5mW Flash Charging stations across Europe before 2026 comes to a close."
I’m fascinated by the economics of this. How does BYD make money on this? Do they run the chargers at a profit? How much will this work out per km for drivers compared to diesel or gasoline?
People think of BYD as a budget car marker, but this to support its luxury brand Denza. The Denza Z9 GT EV has a range of 1,036 km (644 miles) on these chargers. I’m guessing having the best charagers is going to be seen as premium/luxury too.
I want to believe BYD. But my Civic is 20 years old and still idles like a purring cat. I would like 1 year/£1k spent and I don’t have faith im getting that in a BYD. 20k for a Dolphin Surf is a minimum 20 year car, and I just don’t see it.
Granted my Civic wasnt bought new, it was brought for £1300 a year ago and I could probably get another 100k miles out of it. Im almost certain that the new market is outside £1k/year budget, bunch of old Leafs around though.
I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make, other than “used cars are cheaper than new cars, and I won’t buy a new car until that changes”.
Sure. My point is that I don’t believe BYD makes cars that will last as long as I would want them to last.
Dolphin Surf is 20k, for me I would like it to last 20 years. My current car has already survived 20 years, so I don’t think that’s an unreasonable expectation. I don’t believe the dolphin surf will last 20 years.
I could have been more clear.
That’s fair.
They do seem a bit more on the discount side, quality wise. But then again, lots of the usual discount cars, also don’t make it much past 10-15 years. My Nissan Micra is 11 years, and there is no way it’ll still be driving in 9 years, might not even survive the next 2.
£1k/1y is both an easy and challenging target to hit. It’s really easy to hit at the bottom end, bouncing from £500 lemon to the next. Occasionally finding a gem that’ll last a few years.
Nearly impossible to hit on a new car though I think. 20 years for 20k I don’t think is findable beyond winning the lottery on a well made car, from a well designed model, from a reliability focused manufacturer, and giving it an easy life.