China’s Geely Auto launches first compact EV, called Xingyuan, to compete with BYD’s Seagull
The Xingyuan will compete head-on with BYD’s Seagull car to attract young, first-time car buyers amid an ongoing price war in the local market.
The new model, named Xingyuan – which means “wish made on a star” in Chinese – has a spacious design for its size, according to the company. Emphasising “beauty, approachability, and intelligence” as its core design principles, the car seeks to create “emotional value” for its drivers, Geely said.
The Xingyuan will compete with BYD’s Seagull, which was launched last April by the Berkshire Hathaway-backed company as its smallest and most affordable model. The Seagull is priced at less than 70,000 yuan (US$9,846).
Geely said pricing for the Xingyuan will be released later.
EV producers have been fighting a brutal price war to defend their respective market shares as China’s market becomes more crowded. Cutthroat competition is squeezing profit margins for both electric and petrol-driven vehicles.
BYD is one of the most relentless discounters. The company slashed the price of its Seagull model to 69,800 yuan last March, and before that it trimmed the price of its Yuan Plus crossover by nearly 12 per cent. Geely, Leapmotor and Tesla have also reduced prices this year.
