BYD launches cheapest UK model in bid to overtake Tesla as biggest electric carmaker

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/12/byd-dolphin-surf-cheapest-uk-model-electric-carmaker-tesla

by F0urLeafCl0ver

36 comments

  1. > The Chinese manufacturer BYD has launched its cheapest model in the UK, in the latest stage of its efforts to overtake Tesla as the world’s biggest electric carmaker.

    But can they stop the owner from doing Hitler salutes? That is the crux of the matter.

  3. But I have been told that CHINA BAD and therefore we should not buy their EVs. I mean, they are better quality, cheaper, and more reliable than most other EVs. But, you know, China.

  4. i just want a small 1L car that i can buy new on HP, and doesn’t cost £20,000 as a comfortable starting point…

    i know dacia exists… but the majority of small cars having a starting point of £15k upwards for a manual entry level budget trim is not fucking normal.

    used prices are insane too. the only thing with reasonable priced are the mountains of pre-owned EV’s that nobody will touch with a barge pole.

  5. Couldn’t force me to buy either, ones a nazi and ones sok clearly selling at massive losses to destroy the competition, it shouldn’t be allowed.

    Never mind all the stuff that’s recently been exposed about what they are doing to reviewers etc

    Make it go away

  6. Hopefully this encourages other manufacturers to drive down prices as well

  7. Nice cars, I’d be looking at buying the surf if I could scrape some money for the deposit 

  8. What are their aftersales and servicing departments like? Are parts readily available from the AD? Will the UK government ban these vehicles from sensitive sites in the future, similar to how the Chinese government banned Tesla due to its constant surveillance?

  9. That touchscreen is outrageous. In portrait mode it sits 10 inches off the top of the dashboard, how can that not be considered a distraction for drivers?

  10. There’s a serious opportunity for a British car enthusiast with financial connections to be an absolute baller in this market.

  11. 137 miles of range is pathetic. Thats about what an e-golf gets and they’re going for under £10k

  12. So many traditional manufacturers now have great offerings and honestly the pricing on cars now is all pretty similar between German, Japanese etc these days

    So why take a punt on BYD?

  14. The cost of an electric car alone isn’t the only problem, there are a huge number of people in rental properties that have no control or ability to charge at home, which negates the benefits of an electric car.

  16. Seeing a lot of “I’m not buying chinese” here.  Do you folks realise that China mines about 90% of all the rare earth materials used in the manufacture of electric motors on the entire planet?  What this means is that even if you were to buy a completely British electric car (not that they exist) you will still be using chinese materials.  That’s not even mentioning battery manufacturing.

  17. It’s amusing how this comes up in my Reddit feed directly after footage of a bridge collapse in Guizhou.

  18. Competition is great for the EV market, but BYD’s shady legal tactics against critics make it hard to root for them over Tesla.

  19. Work in automotive & have also designed batteries for EVs.

    Is the battery technology superior? Possibly.

    Would I buy BYD? Answer – no.

    Why?

    Terrible environmental practices (metals mining and processing), terrible ethical practices (slave labour, health and safety).

    Buyers be warned; you are buying a product that already has a monster carbon footprint. Even if that is offset compared to ICE during your ownership.

    And buying a product that has been made with incredibly unethical practices.

    Arguably no worse than Tesla (wouldn’t buy one of those, either). But certainly not better.

  20. If I wanted to buy an innovative electric car I now have to choose between supporting cheap Chinese dumping, or Musk.

  22. China or Musk, not sure who I want listening to my conversations and stalking me

  23. This thread:

    UK: We want cheap cars!

    BYD: Here you go.

    UK: Noooo not like that.

  24. Ehh, we rewind 15 years and people were disparaging the Korean cars. I have little doubt given time, people will buy BYD and it’ll become a good sized player in the UK market.

  25. People buying treasure Chinese caramel are gonna really regret it a couple years down the road. This is bad for EU carmakers and bad for the consumers.

  26. Not sure I’d be brave enough to buy one of those. The dealer network seems grey market like and BYD have quite a lot of off balance sheet debt. I wouldn’t be confident these cars would continue to be supported into the future.

  27. Who?

    I’ll stick with a second-hand petrol or diesel small car from 20 years ago thank you. At least until hydrogen comes along.

  28. What’s it safety rating? Looks like one star from that image!

  29. BYD will get bigger. All their shit is in house, meaning very little sourcing apart from some leather for the seats of certain models. Profits will be huge. They will be the main player in a few countries soon. Mark my words.

  30. Whilst the range on this one is too low I’ve been looking at perhaps changing my current MG ev for a BYD

    The new ones look rather decent esp the seallion

  31. Who offers the cheapest deal on this? I know BYD offer 0% but the article states they sell for 6k in china, although they have looser laws their allowing cheaper safety checks.

    I looked online and it was £25k price, 48 months, 279 per month, 279 deposit on PCP.

  32. Never thought od support a Chinese company over American but here I am happy that the fascists have been called out and their stocks plummeting

  33. So all the eVs made by the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Land Rover, kia and who ever else aren’t a thing then

  34. Are they still suing people for saying negative things about their vehicles?

  35. Hopefully it’s better than the Nissan Leaf. Nissan has to be one of the worst EV market out there. They’ve gotten away with unbelievable criminality when it comes to the Nissan Leaf, 2018 onwards version.

    Battery failure due to “passive cooling” bullshyte is pretty common.

  36. Uurgh, it’s so depressing that a dominant US car maker has screwed themselves in the UK market and the only company able to make a play for their market share is a fucking *Chinese* car maker.

    What happened to the British or even European car industries!?

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