Design review BYD Han: ‘Not as good as Nio, but indicative of steps taken by the Chinese’

Western and Chinese car consumers have different priorities. Here we prefer to invest in larger engines and rims. Chinese car buyers prefer online functionality, screen diameter and especially interior space: families in China are often composed. Elderly parents live with their children, caring for grandchildren. Such a household yearns for a space paradise. A large wheelbase is essential here. China has an immense market for extended European cars. Think of the Audi A4 and A6 and the 3 and 5 series from BMW. Nio has clearly made the substantial wheelbase part of the design of the ET7 from the start packaging. The wheelbase of the BYD Han is also quite large. It makes both cars more pleasant on the retina than the forced extended European models.

BMW 3-series Long, for China, below you can see that they have been doing this for a long time at BMW, but also at Audi, for example.

Chinese manufacturers are particularly known in the west for stealing design ideas from European rivals. It is a logical phase in a maturing automotive industry. A few years ago, the Chinese industry was still in its infancy and copying was common. For example, Ian Callum, who was still a designer at Jaguar Land Rover in 2014, once came across a copy of his Evoque, the Landwind X7, which he posted on his Twitter account. Japanese and Korean manufacturers once imitated American and European cars exactly like this. In this way, the Japanese gained a foothold in 20 years, the Koreans in 10, and the Chinese in 5.

Change, Chinese law and consumer do not want copies more

However, a change is underway: the attitude to reproduction is changing. Both Chinese law and consumers want nothing more to do with blatant copies. In addition, manufacturers realized that building a copy car that is already outdated at the time of its introduction brings little benefit in the long term.

With the star designer Peter Schreyer bought away from Audi, Kia managed to double sales in no time. Chinese strategists foresee growth similarly. Through self-critical and strategic thinking, the majority of Chinese manufacturers are now building strong, well-executed designs.

The style development of leading brands is often led by foreign top designers. Like Schreyer, Wolfgang Josef Egger, the German chief designer of the BYD Group, was bought away from Audi and previously worked for Seat, Lancia and Lamborghini, among others.

BYD Han signed generically but not a copy

Although the BYD Han is drawn generically and there are no exceptionally innovative ideas to be seen, it is by no means a copy. By the way, this BYD Han is not as strong as Nio’s work. The design lacks the finesse and originality in terms of proportion, surfacing and jewellery who knows the exceptionally recognizable drawn ET7. Although at the detail level in the C-pillar an interesting use of chrome can be seen that returns very carefully in the black part of the sill. Unfortunately, it is too little part of an integral design idea, too much of a gimmick.

Han: example of industry maturation

The maturing of the Chinese car industry is clearly visible in the market. The BYD Han is a striking example. The applied design ideas are fairly fresh, the execution is good. In recent years, immense strides have been made on a cultural level, within the hierarchical Chinese corporate cultures. The extremely fast action of Chinese car manufacturers makes them unique and a formidable competitor for Western brands. Build Your Dreams has also passed the copying phase, but is not yet as comfortable as Nio and other brands in China’s maturing car industry.