BYD

Most of the 500 EVs to be delivered to Blue Bird this year will be filled by BYD, particularly the E6 and T3 models, an executive with the Indonesian company said.

"That was many years ago. Their cars are highly competitive these days," Musk said.

The 2023 Song Pro DM-i starts at RMB 5,000 less than the model's 2022 counterpart, but the two lower-priced versions come with larger battery packs.

Great Wall Motor's Haval H6 was the best-selling SUV for years, but that spot has been taken by BYD's Song family of models.

BYD has been using blade batteries in its full line of passenger cars and released a bus chassis platform using blade batteries in September last year.

The facility is being used to showcase models from all of BYD's brands, including the BYD Seagull, which starts at just RMB 73,800, and the Yangwang U8, which has a pre-sale price of RMB 1,098,000.

BYD said it is evaluating the feasibility of building a passenger car plant in Europe and is looking for a suitable location.

On May 18, BYD launched the facelifts of the plug-in hybrid versions of its flagship Han sedan at reduced prices compared to the 2022 variants.

Of the 8,051 orders received on launch day, the average price exceeded RMB 240,000, with 35.9 percent of consumers ordering the model with a range of 200 km, BYD said.

This is BYD's latest move to further expand its market share by launching revamped models to make prices lower, following the launch of the 2023 Han EV, as well as the 2023 Seal.