Weblog Bas – The fear of the seagull

If I were BYD I wouldn’t let it go. Because it costs from €10,400 in China. Because it looks really nice. Because I was impressed by a previous introduction to the BYD Atto III – these are not amateurs. But mainly because the Seagull seems to have what it takes to fill a gaping hole in the market here; that for affordable electric city cars with a more or less mature range and smooth charging times. I understand that even the basic Seagull gets 300 kilometers on a charge and charges fairly quickly.

Car-producing Europe, busy as it was with the capital-consuming catch-up against Tesla, had barely gotten around to that type of car. What we could buy so far in the budget class was not enough. Of course there was nothing to earn from it and there was no room for a sturdy battery pack. The Dacia Spring was a renovated Chinese car with a charging speed of 22 kW and a range of up to 200 kilometers. The electric Twingo got even less far than its Romanian colleague. The fallen VW E-Up was thrown out with the bathwater as a child when it became clear that the petrol Ups would not survive the Euro 7 standard. Missed opportunity, because it was a good car and an energy transition that wants to get a large audience on board will have to quickly focus on affordability. With three-phase charger and a slightly higher fast charging speed, VW had a hit, not least because the electric little ones from VW & co won’t be there until 2025. It comes in the fallow price segment of under 25k so now it comes down to speed of action, and you can leave the pace to the Chinese. Their Nios are scary good for debutant stuff and a brand like MG is taking bigger steps per model.

Suppose BYD could market the Seagull this year in Europe for around twenty thousand euros. With the solid dealer network of importer Louwman, market penetration will not be a problem, and Europe cannot retaliate with a competitor. Because there isn’t. And if it comes, too late, it will probably be more expensive. For example, a Seagull with the right specs can monopolize this wasteland in one fell swoop and all the creepy geopolitical contradictions are on edge. He is the divisive element that can make the bomb burst. Because Europe will not let itself be crushed. Then, with the backing of Europe, a cornered European car industry can light the protectionist fuse in the powder keg. Which unfortunately itself is fist deep in China, because this knife also cuts both ways. But that’s just it: everyone is always prepared for diplomacy, unless flexibility starts to cost money. That’s why I’m afraid of the BYD Seagull and all the budget birds that follow. It goes wrong once. And then good.