We asked Li if there were any challenges for BYD getting onto fleets, how the necessary infrastructure had been put in place, and what steps the company was taking to stay competitive in the market?
She said: “Our focus now is on aftersales and offering a five-star service. This is not only with BYD, but including third-party servicing as well.
“We just announced a tie-up with Bosch in Europe. This year we will have our dealers, plus Bosch have several hundred as well. So, now we can be one service for fleet. To work in fleet, you need a competitive amount of service points.
“The second is talking about residual values. BYD has a very long vision – we don’t drop our prices. As long as we keep sustainable growth, that will take care of the residual value.
“Third-party residual value setters are working with us, so we’re building some data now. Now we’ve got their trust, we’re showing how BYD is different – this is very strong.”
Li said that another element for BYD was around working with financial institutions such as Arval, Ayvens and Black Horse Finance in the UK.
She said: “The relationship after two-years is working, with them knowing BYD and our technology. The trust is there, and they’re not worried about investing more to support us with financing. You can see this with the 0% offer on the Sealion 7.
“With these three elements together, BYD can be competitive in fleet.”
