From its inception, Chinese automaker BYD has had a global vision that’s been realised in Asia, Europe, and South America, but the company has had a conspicuously low profile in the U.S., where 25%import duties have so far kept the brand mostly out of the market. Indeed, U.S. lawmakers are urging even higher tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
The U.S. blockade hasn’t stopped BYD (“Build Your Dreams”) from becoming the world’s biggest producer of EVs, passing Tesla. The company produced 3 million vehicles last year, with exports to 70 countries growing by a remarkable 334%. The company’s website has headlines such as “BYD Seal Launched in Nepal” and “BYD Enters Indonesian Passenger Car Market with three EVs.” Early investment in BYD by Warren Buffett seems to have been rewarded, though he sold some of his stock in 2022.
The EV supercar market has entries such as the Rimac Nevera, Lucid Air Sapphire, Maserati GranTurismo Folgore, and others, but few credible models from China. Now that may be changing with BYD’s sleek two-door US$233,400 Yangwang U9 (“Ultimate 9”) coupe, so far intended only for the Chinese market.
Competitive with those other supercars, it can reach 62 miles per hour in 2.36 seconds and attain a top speed of 192 mph. The U9 has 1,287 horsepower and 1,200 pound-feet of torque. The car was shown in a live launch stream from Shanghai on Saturday, and will reportedly reach customers as early as this summer.
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BYD photo
The U9 has an 80-kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, battery and 280-mile range on the Chinese Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle, which Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst for transportation and mobility at Guidehouse Insights, says is “notoriously optimistic.” The U9 has an 800-volt architecture and can reportedly use DC fast charging up to 500 kilowatts, with the ability to charge from 30% to 80% in 10 minutes.
The U9 has familiar supercar styling by the German designer Wolfgang Egger, complete with a pair of upswinging doors. Like other Chinese cars, it has its fanciful side—including four different “dance modes” that make use of its Discus X full active body control. In the event of a flat tire, it can run on three wheels. Other features include an adjustable rear wing and “the smartest supercar cockpit,” with two LCD screens (and provisions for a possible third). The U9 is around 16 feet long, roughly the size of a Lamborghini Aventador.
Yangwang is a new upmarket brand for BYD. The lineup includes the U8, a US$150,000 four-motor plug-in hybrid SUV with 1,184 horsepower and zero to 62 in 3.6 seconds. The U8 can reportedly stay afloat during emergencies. BYD has already delivered more than 3,000 of them. The U7 is a luxury electric four-door sedan, also with four motors, and a reported 1,300 horsepower and up to 500-mile range. The U7 starts at US$140,000.
BYD covers both ends of the market, and offers EVs that sell for less than US$14,000 in the Chinese market. BYD, which has sold some buses in the U.S., is considering production in Mexico, which would potentially be an easy export to the U.S. That prospect is alarming Western automakers. According to a recent report from the Alliance for American Manufacturing: “The introduction of cheap Chinese autos—which are so inexpensive because they are backed with the power and funding of the Chinese government—to the American market could end up being an extinction-level event for the U.S. auto sector.”
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BYD photo
Building Chinese cars in Mexico is “an effort to gain backdoor access to American consumers by circumventing existing policies that are keeping China’s autos out of the U.S. market,” the report said. Abuelsamid said that further tariffs are “a distinct possibility,” but not likely until at least 2025 because of Congressional gridlock.
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Continued stagflation and cost of living pressures are causing couples to think twice about starting a family, new data has revealed, with long term impacts expected
Australia is in the midst of a ‘baby recession’ with preliminary estimates showing the number of births in 2023 fell by more than four percent to the lowest level since 2006, according to KPMG. The consultancy firm says this reflects the impact of cost-of-living pressures on the feasibility of younger Australians starting a family.
KPMG estimates that 289,100 babies were born in 2023. This compares to 300,684 babies in 2022 and 309,996 in 2021, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said weak economic growth often leads to a reduced number of births. In 2023, ABS data shows gross domestic product (GDP) fell to 1.5 percent. Despite the population growing by 2.5 percent in 2023, GDP on a per capita basis went into negative territory, down one percent over the 12 months.
“Birth rates provide insight into long-term population growth as well as the current confidence of Australian families,” said Mr Rawnsley. “We haven’t seen such a sharp drop in births in Australia since the period of economic stagflation in the 1970s, which coincided with the initial widespread adoption of the contraceptive pill.”
Mr Rawnsley said many Australian couples delayed starting a family while the pandemic played out in 2020. The number of births fell from 305,832 in 2019 to 294,369 in 2020. Then in 2021, strong employment and vast amounts of stimulus money, along with high household savings due to lockdowns, gave couples better financial means to have a baby. This led to a rebound in births.
However, the re-opening of the global economy in 2022 led to soaring inflation. By the start of 2023, the Australian consumer price index (CPI) had risen to its highest level since 1990 at 7.8 percent per annum. By that stage, the Reserve Bank had already commenced an aggressive rate-hiking strategy to fight inflation and had raised the cash rate every month between May and December 2022.
Five more rate hikes during 2023 put further pressure on couples with mortgages and put the brakes on family formation. “This combination of the pandemic and rapid economic changes explains the spike and subsequent sharp decline in birth rates we have observed over the past four years,” Mr Rawnsley said.
The impact of high costs of living on couples’ decision to have a baby is highlighted in births data for the capital cities. KPMG estimates there were 60,860 births in Sydney in 2023, down 8.6 percent from 2019. There were 56,270 births in Melbourne, down 7.3 percent. In Perth, there were 25,020 births, down 6 percent, while in Brisbane there were 30,250 births, down 4.3 percent. Canberra was the only capital city where there was no fall in the number of births in 2023 compared to 2019.
“CPI growth in Canberra has been slightly subdued compared to that in other major cities, and the economic outlook has remained strong,” Mr Rawnsley said. “This means families have not been hurting as much as those in other capital cities, and in turn, we’ve seen a stabilisation of births in the ACT.”
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.