Two heavyweights of China’s electrified car engaged in a rare public duel, with one accusing the other of failing to meet current standards.
Yesterday, Great Wall Motors released a startling statement on the company’s official WeChat account, accusing fellow countryman BYD of failing to meet China’s emissions standards. The allegations relate to two of BYD’s best-selling plug-in hybrid models, the Qin Plus DM-i sedan and the Song Plus DM-i SUV. No evidence has been revealed on the social network, but Great Wall claims that it submitted documents on April 11 to several authorities, including the Ministry of Ecology and that of Industry and Information.
BYD Qin Plus DM-i
BYD Song Plus DM-i
Great Wall, on the other hand, is more precise on what it is pointing to, precisely implicating the fuel tanks of these two models which are not pressurized as it should be to avoid polluting evaporations as much as possible. This is a particularly important area for plug-in hybrids, which are subject to stricter regulations than for purely thermal vehicles, as driving in electric mode can cause the gasoline to stagnate in the tank for longer. If these accusations prove true, it would force BYD to carry out a colossal recall of all Qin Plus and Song Plus sold in China, a total of more than 800,000 units.
BYD did not fail to reply to these accusations on Webo by formulating some in its turn: Great Wall would have bought the two models from BYD and would have subjected them to tests without independent supervision and based on longer distances than what the Chinese regulations provide. The brand reserves the right to take legal action to deal with this “unfair competitive behavior”.
The reaction on the Chinese financial market was in any case immediate. At the close of the Chinese stock market yesterday, BYD’s share fell by 2.41% and that of Great Wall… by 6.17%.
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