Per què la indústria xinesa del cotxe elèctric va tan de pressa: sis dies dins l’univers BYD

With so much talk of electric cars on non-beyond cars, I thought it was about time I went to the center of it all, China. And I'm here to specifically find out what is it about China that just seems to have the whole electric thing sewn up. >> In this video, I'll take you to the Beijing Motor Show, bring you to the heart of all the action at BYD's all-terrain test circuit, including the Guinness World Record holding highest and largest indoor sand dune climbing facility for car testing. I'll get exclusive access to one of their factories to try and understand how they can build so many cars in such a short space of time. I'll explore the much-talked-about flash charging, and I'll show you some of the models available in this part of the world that prove we're just getting the tip of the iceberg when it comes to available models from BYD and its other companies such as Denza. >> CATL have only announced in the last 24 hours a battery that can do 1,500 km on a single charge. You'd be able to drive on land from London to Barcelona. It's an equivalent in an electric car. And of all the comments I get on the channel, time and time again when it comes to electric cars, it's not necessarily anti-EV, it's just that the range doesn't suit everybody, and that's understandable. But here, it's just massively different. One of the big things you'll notice when you walk around the streets in China is some familiar names. You might have a different model specifically for this part of the world, such as the Volkswagen ID.6, but I can count on one hand the ID.6s I've seen. In fact, an ID.3 just went past. There are some familiar badges, of course, but there's plenty more that you, and certainly I, have never heard of. One brand you don't have to look far to spot on the streets around here is BYD. So, over the next couple of days, I'm going to go to some of their research and development areas, a purpose-built track for new energy vehicles, visit one of their factories, and also take a trip to Beijing to see the auto show of 2026. That's a Porsche gone by just for reference. This is also part of the world where things like Google and YouTube are banned. So, if you've never been here before, you have to get an e-sim, VPNs just to access things like

Instagram and TikTok, things we take for granted at home. I'm going to document what it's like here, how vast it is in reality, and it is it is vast. People seem pretty friendly. They're just happy to get on about their day and their business. The streets are supremely clean. There's literally no rubbish around. It is for such a massive part of the world, and I'm sure there are areas, but anywhere I visited, it's really, really clean. And just to get it out in the open, BYD have paid for my flights and my hotel, but I have not been paid for this press trip. I've never been paid for a press trip, and it's standard protocol that a brand will pay for your flights in order for you to cover their event. I'm here in total for 6 days, and I'm going to bring you on a journey to see what it's really like here as far as EVs are concerned. Next up, got to catch a bullet train. The bullet train, which brings you to Beijing in comfort and almost as quickly as flying, is just a normal part of life here. I did notice quite a strange display of items prohibited on the bullet train. Some of them seem pretty obvious. Let's now head downtown to check out my first stop on the tour. I'm here at BYD and Denza's D space, which is essentially a museum, a merch store, and where we've come today to experience flash charging. For many years, one of the simplest ways to dismiss EVs to say, "Yes, but you can go to a petrol pump or diesel pump and fill up the tank in 5 minutes." Well, this technology allows you to do exactly the same just with electricity. In 5 minutes, you can charge the car to 80% in 9 minutes, you can charge to 100% and BYD are about to roll out 20,000 of these chargers in China in the next 12 months. They are coming to Europe as well. They're coming to the UK, Ireland. I'm not aware right now we're often paddy last, no pun intended, when it comes to these things. There's a QR code. In this part of the world, there's no apps or ifs, you just connect the car

like you would with a Tesla. These T-bar design chargers will be open to other vehicles as well. I know for Denza, however, their customers, BYD would rather you can rock up to an empty charger like the way you used to be able to with Tesla chargers that weren't open to other brands. So, that's something they're working on at the moment. You can charge up to five cars in an hour essentially with no gap. You don't need for it to cool down after that hour has gone by. These chargers can also store energy, so don't actually need to rely on the grid at all times. It can store a combined 375 kilowatt hour worth of energy. Yes, it's probably quite a few years away until we see this kind of technology in our part of the world. It's another example, however, of how far advanced China is when it comes to just sorting that balance between reasons why you can't go electric and reasons why you can't. I'm now sitting in the driver's seat of this fully charged Denza. 5 minutes 58 seconds Uh, electric range of 366 in those 5 minutes. So, pretty much the same speed that you'd pull up to an ice fuel pump, go into the shop, queue to pay, tap your card, all the rest. I don't think there's much in the difference. And you can do flash charging with our PHEV vehicles, as well. A little surreal, perhaps, to see the charging speed increase by the percentage every second, or possibly less. It's essentially 2 km a second going into the car. A second. While the plan to roll out 20,000 flash chargers in [music] China is underway, I did notice that one of the screens suggested that this was a simulation exercise, and [music] not the real thing. This might be acceptable for influencers to showcase, but for those of us creating authentic copy for our outlets, it was more than a little frustrating. If it can work, show it properly, BYD. [music] Next up on my tour of China, it was time for the Beijing Auto Show 2026. It's a weird one. I've never been somewhere so big, with so many people. Yes, there's air conditioning in the corridors, but there isn't in the halls. So, it gets very congested, very hot. A lot of the brands you're going to see today are not

even on sale in Europe, possibly never will be on sale in Europe. And this is one of the themes I'm really starting to see on day five in China. They are well able to operate within the motoring sphere without any assistance from the outside world. I think we're just so used to what we know, it's good to kind of get out of our comfort zone. So, let's jump in here into the main hall, at speed three, where BYD have pretty much taken over the entire hall to showcase their brands. Let's head on in. >> Fens Bao are one of those brands that we don't get at home, but I just wanted to show you some of the vehicles that have been unveiled today to give you an idea of I suppose what we're missing out on in Europe. >> They're generating about 50,000 units per month towards the end of 2025. So, you had Bao and T, and now we have equation S. And then also unveiled today is their new Formula X sports car. We know the company can do hypercars with the YangWang U9, and I'll show you something from them that has been revised and updated that is a very good-looking little roadster. Another model we don't see in our part of the world is the 06 06 GT. It's kind of like a Kia EV6 type shape of car. And well, this is proof that in this part of the world, they don't just have blacks and grays and silvers and blues and BYD, you can get an outrageously Barbie pink color if you so wish. >> Then we have Denza who are the premium brand under the BYD umbrella, and well, they can't they can't be outdone by their friends across the aisle and down the corridor and closely related sibling and all that stuff. So, they have also unveiled a hyper roadster today. We're seeing it in production convertible form in Beijing with a soft-top retractable roof. It's led by BYD's global design director Wolfgang Egger. It has more than 1,000 brake horsepower and a 0 to 100 km/h time of less than 2 seconds, and it's on

the second-generation blade battery and comes complete with that flash charging. This car will be getting its full global launch at Goodwood in the UK later on in the summer. One thing is for certain, having looked around just some of the Beijing Motor Show where as far as I know there's over 350 electric cars present at this event. The scale obviously is ginormous. You just can't really comprehend. But you can't really comprehend China either until you literally come here and see what it's all about. Today [snorts] I've seen some beautiful cars from BYD, the YangWang U9 extreme edition. 496 km an hour and apparently they ran out of road before they ran out of power. There was still 250 kW left under the driver's foot. And then you look at brands that can swap out batteries in 3 minutes. And you talk to some of the Chinese people here who have English and it's just normal to them. Um it's like you're describing something and they're going to go, "What's the problem?" And then you explain in Europe we just do not have this technology. I went over to the Xiaopeng stand and again some of those vehicles they absolutely give Range Rover a run for their money. The G9 I tested on the channel mid last year. It was a phenomenal car to drive and the interior was really good. And that's the thing if you compare these cars to Chinese cars of 10 years ago which literally don't exist really anymore cuz they're off the road. Uh this stuff is absolutely nice and big. Um [snorts] I think we're missing out on some of this tech if we don't embrace some of their brands. Equally there's probably not enough appetite for European markets to bring in not an unknown but bring in someone else who could technically end up cutting their lunch. You get why the fear is there. Uh it's only really when you see how good the stuff is here that you really understand why the fear should be there. Porsche are one of the brands that I've seen a lot of on the streets around

here, but when you look into it, in the last 18 months sales have really declined in China. And again, you can't help wonder is that because Chinese people, particularly younger people, but wealthy people, middle-class people who are buying cars, uh despite being younger, are looking at alternatives from their own country and saying, "This is better." I've done many automotive factory tours from Škoda to Rolls-Royce, and BYD's were certainly a little different. Whilst the former are akin to walking through science labs, workers welded metal in front of us. Sparks flew over our heads, and while I didn't feel unsafe at any point, it was clear that working conditions in Europe were probably better overall for employees. Compared to those European factories that I visited, the degree of automation was a lot higher, and robots can obviously work all day and night producing parts for cars at a cost-effective price. If you've seen the latest series of Clarkson's Farm, you'll have seen how technology and automation can make for a more productive business model. Next on the trip was a chance to experience BYD's floating car, also known as the Yangwang U8. [music] In the back of the U8 now, it's my turn. See what it's like. >> Like uh because in China every year we are receive very heavy rainfall, like uh during summer. You mean Zhengzhou, like last year, several years ago, there are very, very heavy storm. Yeah. And many many people died, like 100 people died due to the uh the storm. So, uh we we want to save life. >> Into waiting mode. Just feels like you just get into a canoe. >> Let's see. >> So car has detected the depth of the water. >> Yeah, the window will automatically close and sunroof will automatically open for you to escape just in case. >> But not into the water. Do you get Do you get life jackets? >> [laughter] >> No life jackets are needed. So it's 30 minutes. It can >> 30 minutes guaranteed. >> What's the longest you've seen it do? >> As long as not leaking. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Can't say I've floated in a car before.

>> Uh at least 30 minutes guaranteed. Yes. >> And what is the the deepest water that you've >> Doesn't matter. We're floating. >> Doesn't >> Doesn't matter. It's a boat. >> We can cross the Atlantic. >> Just push the door, yes. >> This is one such example of a car that I really hope does make it to Ireland. The Denza Z9 GT. Think of it as a BYD or their posture brand Denza equivalent of a Panamera. Roughly 100,000 euro in Europe for the hybrid version of this car, which yes, it's a lot of money, but with Denza, luxury is the detail. So you get genuine leather where it's vegan leather in many other models. And yes, you can look at the Gran Turismo design and say it's been influenced by Porsche and the likes, but it just doesn't feel like it's been copied. In many ways, it feels like it's been bettered over here. We've been brought to a kick place test area today. There's lots of water, but there's lots of water coming from the sky as well just to show you how the vehicles are controllable in a wet sleepy environments should this type of driving happen on your journey probably highly unlikely but nice cars to test it out in. And then we were shown cars that can crab their way into tight parking spaces and you're looking at it the way the angle of the vehicle is and you're going what are they going to do here? You're never going to park that thing. And then suddenly the rear wheels start crabbing their way into the spot. You wonder sometimes why how the cute thought of that and for what reason but to see it in action if you're not a great parker it's pretty impressive. I'm at BYD's test track development center one of one of them anyway in a place called Jingzhou which is in southern China and let me show you around some of the vehicles that we don't have on sale in Europe we may not have on sale in Europe but when you look at some of these vehicles you'll probably ask yourself why not. The notion that these cars are Chinese knockoffs or anything like that it's just not evidence. The game has

moved on. You look at these vehicles and yes there's inspiration in some of the Denza vehicles whether you want to say it's a BYD Defender or a Denza this or a Denza Land Cruiser but then you look inside them and the materials particularly in Denza is so good. One big takeaway from me is the fact that you find yourself certainly I do lusting after some of these Chinese vehicles. We haven't always been able to say that but that's another example of how I just feel the game has moved on now. Vehicles like the Shark that you could just imagine trades people all over Ireland using and towing bits with and having vehicle to load and if you took the huge BYD badge off this vehicle it looks like a Ranger Raptor. The color is even very similar and then you say okay but what's the interior like?" And you have a look at it and it blows you away. In fact, nearly it's a you don't want to get that interior dirty. The YangWang U9, it doesn't really need any introductions. It's been around for a couple of years and it's been well documented. The track is a bit wet today, but still no problem for for grip. Almost 1,300 brake horsepower motor on each wheel. A car I got to drive on the track today, but a car that you can use on a daily basis apparently and you can use for your commute to work cuz yes, it's a hypercar, but it doesn't necessarily have the suspension in a good and bad way of a hypercar in the sense that you could actually go to the shops in this. And of course, it's not just about electric vehicles. This is an example of a hybrid, the Denza B5 DMO. This particular vehicle with 31.8 kW hour battery with a petrol engine then as well. And another example of vehicle you could absolutely see fitting in on Irish roads and being a workhorse. And by today's standards with the price of the new Land Cruiser, you can only assume would be a lot more affordable. And over my shoulder here, the BYD T17. It does have a bit of a knock-off Defender look about it. The interior is quite nice though, big boot, plenty of space for rear passengers. Also shot it in gray today. Looks very nice in this kind of tan leather and the green exterior. A very practical looking vehicle that if you need towing, if you have horses, you

know, big equestrian industry in Ireland. And this is a PHEV again. BYD are not over-relying on electrification for certain vehicles. And yes, these things are a bit of a nuisance on the school run, but let's add another one to it and why wouldn't this be able to compete with what exists on Irish and UK roads. So, this is the T17 in a very nice green, an Irish green, you might say. And the Seal, you a vehicle you're probably familiar with, sold really well in Ireland, best-selling BYD in the UK. And an example of a stick a roof box on it. Bike rack on the back, you go on your family holidays. And because this has the 1.5 petrol DMI hybrid option, you're not over-relying on it being a BEV. Again, for people, it just offers more flexibility. On a BYD specific front, they seem to be the ones that have made the biggest imprint into Europe. They've had a bit of a head start. But there's no doubt looking around the exhibition halls today, there are other brands that want a slice of that action. I don't know, and maybe you do, how many more Chinese brands could enter the European market. One brand that is in the UK that isn't even in Ireland, are Jaecoo, for example. Uh mixed reports on the build quality of those vehicles. So all Chinese brands will not be equal. And I suppose that's where the engineering ethos of BYD comes into play. Certainly when you look at things like the tour of the factory that we did, there's so much automation and robots. Uh where that's just one part, I suppose, where they can save money and and turn make the vehicles that you're considering buying more affordable. Even getting a coffee in China, as I was able to film, is not like at home. And there's definitely a certain element of it's going to take our job. But technology is at the forefront of this country. They have left America so far behind in such a short space of time. I'm trying to think who could potentially be the next China. I don't know if there is one right now. This film has taken me quite far to the other side of the world, so I'd really appreciate you getting involved in the comments. Do you think Europe can truly

compete with China? And if not, what [music] do you think can or should be done to slow the pace? Economic forecasts predict that China will have the world's largest economy within the next 6 years. Perhaps you feel that trying to slow innovation through the likes of tariffs would just be pointless and think that the major car companies have sat back for too long and just allowed China create better cars. >> The pace of China has been eye-opening for me. Hopefully, you'll get a little sense of it from watching this video from city center in Zhengzhou from the motor show from the factory tour little trip in some of the vehicles and it was a little trip to be very little driving on this event, which is a little bit unfortunate and would have been preferential to get a bit more driving on the trip. But just to see the scale to see how things kind of work and make it make a bit more sense in your head as to how quick the pace here is. This for me has been a bit of an insight. Plenty of space for comments down below, of course. Let me know what you think of Chinese vehicles. Are they the future? Is there anything Europe can do to try and I I don't even want to say try and catch up cuz it's it's just not going to happen. The dilemma I suppose is do we save jobs? Do we keep things as they have been forever? It feels impossible. Nothing stops changing in life. And automotive is not going to be any different. And when places like BYD are about to set up factories in Europe, you can just get the sense there'll be other brands who want a bit of that action. So, I don't even really want to say we can get on board. We can certainly match the luxury end of the cars. We can certainly make prettier cars. But the technology involved, I'm not so sure right now. Anyway, it's almost time to hop on a plane. Um it's been a long way to go just to get a bit of research on the channel, but I think it's been worth it. Anyway, I'll see you back reviewing normal cars pretty soon. And let me know what you think in the comments down below. Thanks for watching. See you next time.