Experts are warning that drivers could be caught in an electric vehicle price war as Chinese brands continue to slash costs to boost their market share.
Chinese manufacturing giant BYD announced price cuts on more than a dozen of its models, prompting other brands to also look at the prices of their models.
BYD has slashed the price of its entry-level Seagull model to just 55,800 Chinese Yuan or £5,733, with drivers hoping to see similar movement around the world.
The move had a significant impact on share prices, with the Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD falling 8.6 per cent earlier this week.
Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailingmotoring@gbnews.uk
Experts are warning of a price war after BYD slashed the price of several of its popular models
GETTY/REUTERS
Other brands also saw their stocks drop, including Geely (9.5 per cent), Leapmotor (8.5 per cent) and Nio (three per cent).
Speaking to Reuters, one senior analyst warned that the BYD price cuts and subsequent market reaction could lead to turmoil for other companies.
Tu Le, managing director at Sino Auto Insights, said: "This points to a bloodbath later this year. This could be the first domino that would finally put pressure on weaker players - startups like Neta and Polestar - that have been teetering."
Similarly, Peter Golding, CEO of FleetCheck, said BYD was looking to gain a greater share of the market and place pressure on rival brands.
He added: "The question it raises is, if they and other manufacturers are willing to do this in China, what would be stopping them adopting similar measures in the UK and other markets?
"BYD are already outselling Tesla in Europe, so they could soon have sufficient market mass that price cuts could cause genuine disruption."
In the UK alone, BYD has made major headway over the last year. Since the start of 2025, the Xi'an-based company has sold 11,782 new vehicles, worth a market share of 1.68 per cent.
It has already overtaken several staples of British roads, including Citroen (5,347), Fiat (4,373) and Seat (8,795). Crucially, it is less than 1,300 sales away from catching electric vehicle giant Tesla.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Even when compared to other Chinese brands in the UK, BYD remains the leader, beating the likes of GWM (124), Jaecoo (4,288), Leapmotor (301) and Omoda (4,104).
Golding warned that the UK could act as a haven for Chinese cars as the Government has not yet introduced tariffs, in opposition to Canada, the European Union and the United States.
He noted that businesses could be impacted by a price war, especially if they have a large fleet of vehicles, since there would be issues with residual values.
The expert said: "What we have seen from the larger Chinese manufacturers so far is a structured approach to entering the UK market, recruiting credible dealer networks and creating impressive parts distribution facilities.
BYD is the best-selling Chinese automotive manufacturer in the UK BYD"Any price war would surely be damaging to the trust created by this kind of hard work?
"What we are seeing lately in the UK are noticeable but relatively controlled EV price reductions over time and this seems to us an approach that is much more in tune with the kind of thinking we see among the fleets with which we work."
Most Read
