Why Does BYD Struggle to Penetrate Western Markets?

Abstract

Although BYD has seen success in its domestic market, this Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer faces considerable challenges in establishing a presence in Western automotive markets, despite possessing several competitive advantages over Western EV manufacturers, such as proprietary battery technology, in-house parts manufacturing, access to essential raw materials, and support from the Chinese government. The main factors hindering BYD’s entry into Western markets include weak market demand combined with ambitious sales targets, a flawed pricing strategy, regulatory investigations by Western countries, concerns about quality, and the necessity for extensive post-import adjustments, and significant repairs. This article aims to explore these key challenges to better understand why BYD is struggling to penetrate Western markets.