The introduction of Chinese automaker BYD (Build Your Dreams) on December 1 marks another milestone in South Africa’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs), with the Eastern Cape becoming the third province to offer the new energy vehicles after Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
BYD is a manufacturer of EVs, surpassing a million sales last year. It enjoys a presence in 70 countries and 400 cities globally.
The vehicles will be sold by the Kelston Motor Group, starting at premises off Buffelsfontein Road in Gqeberha before branching to other parts of the province.
Kelston Motor Group said in a statement on Monday that the agreement was concluded after physical and online meetings between the directors of the two firms in recent months.
“In addition to cutting down on carbon emissions, one of the big selling points for South Africans is that the vehicles are capable of powering portions of the home thanks to vehicle-to-load (VTOL) charging – ideal in countering the effects of load shedding,” it said.
Kelston said it had considerable experience in selling hybrids from the likes of Toyota and Haval, but BYD was its first foray into all-EV models.
Kelston Motor Group’s operations director, Peter McNaughton, said it was clear that new-energy vehicles were part of the future of the automotive sector and the business aimed to be at the forefront of the evolution.
However, he said, being the first in the sector in the region meant that the company would have to make a substantial investment in guiding the public in understanding the benefits of EVs.
“What stands out about BYD is that there are not many EV brands at a similar price point (starting R700 000) that offer such appealing aesthetics.”
McNaughton said that if the brand’s lower running costs were considered, the vehicles were comparable economically with internal combustion engine-powered compact SUVs in this section of the market.
Studies had shown that because EVs comprise fewer moving parts and liquids like oil and transmission fuel, maintenance costs were brought down considerably.
The first model to be offered by Kelston is the ATTO 3 crossover, which is powered by BYD’s unique Blade Battery.
The cell offers a driving range of 340 to 420km a charge, which can power up from 30 to 80% in just 40 minutes.
The automaker said the battery was not only safer and cheaper to manufacture, but also more resilient, given that it functioned perfectly after being driven over by a 46-ton truck in a road test.
It also offered a minimum of 4 000 charging cycles, which BYD said equated to around 60 years of usage.
Longer range vehicles were in the pipeline, said McNaughton, who added that Kelston’s BYD operations would include a workshop and aftersales support.
“It’s a feather in our cap that BYD reached out to offer its vehicles to the province’s motoring public,” McNaughton said.
“We are incredibly excited about the future now that BYD is in the province.”
BYD versus Tesla
Bloomberg reported this week that BYD was rapidly closing in on Tesla Inc as the world’s biggest seller of pure electric vehicles, with surging profits underscoring its sales clout despite intensifying competition at home.
Shares of the Hong Kong-listed Chinese electric-vehicle firm were up 1.7% this month, outperforming Tesla’s 17% plunge and declines in other peers as well. While shares of Elon Musk’s firm were up by more than double the rise in BYD this year, signs were pointing to further gains for BYD.
Traders have snapped up bullish options on BYD, while analysts have raised their earnings projections for the Chinese company to a record high since its preliminary quarterly report this month.
BYD posted all-time high sales despite intensifying competition and a broader slowdown in sales of China’s new-energy cars.
Musk cast a pall over the global EV sector with a grim outlook earlier this month, saying rising interest rates in the US had hurt its sales. Tesla’s results are also suffering from the months-long price war that it had initiated in an attempt to fuel demand. Analysts have been lowering their earnings-per-share estimates for the US maker at the same time the outlook for BYD has been rising.
“BYD still looks like the safest bet versus Tesla in the short term, given its discipline in terms of balancing volume growth with profitability,” said Kevin Net, the head of Asian equities at Tocqueville Finance.
“It also has growing exposure to hybrids, which have been gaining market share in China and contribute to higher margins,” Bloomberg reported.
BUSINESS REPORT AND BLOOMBERG