How BYD, Nio And Other Chinese EVs Compare To Tesla

Low-cost, high-tech Chinese EVs have stirred fears of a government subsidized existential threat to automakers around the world. So what do these vehicles have to offer? How do they compare to the Tesla Model Y, which in 2024 was the best-selling car in the world? CNBC’s Beijing bureau chief Eunice Yoon tested four of them from large and high-profile Chinese brands to see how they stack up, and how their rivals might compete.

Chapters:
01:51 How BYD, Nio and other Chinese EVs compare to Tesla
01:57 Chapter 1 - Price Advantage
05:40 Chapter 2 - The smart EV
10:44 Chapter 3 - Downsides
12:32 Chapter 4 - Future Outlook

Producer: Robert Ferris, Eunice Yoon
Editor: Nora Rappoport, Darren Geeter
Field Production: Hilary Pan
Animation: Christina Locopo, Jason Reginato
Senior Managing Producer: Tala Hadavi
Production Support: Jeniece Pettitt, Ryan Baker
Additional footage: Getty Images

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How BYD, Nio And Other Chinese EVs Compare To Tesla

[tatata]

I remember when people said “Americans won’t buy Japanese”😂

[AG-kpes]

I've lived long enough to remember those days when Toyota and Honda were seen as a threat to America.

[SteelCumberland]

And the US subsidizes North-American automobile companies and nobody says anything 😂

[gerardopc]

Don't fool yourselves. In the end, 90% of us will buy the cheaper car no matter where it comes from. Chinese EVs are not the low quality product you're trying to make them look like.

[ULTIMATEUNITED]

CNBC did Nio dirty, showing a 4 year old Nio and a gen 1 battery swap station 😂😂😂😂. Nio is on gen 4. Cant handle Chinese competition so misdirect people

[coindeepdive]

That NIO is 4 years old, swap station is 1st gen. Why did you deliberately pick an old product. This is misleading. Imagine comparing Apple to Samsung with an iPhone 8. That's what you've done and don't think people will not realize it. CNBC, dishonest as always.

[henyz]

When you realize that Americans subsidized more money to American car companies like GM, but only got a bunch of crappy photos in return, you will understand why Americans are so angry about Chinese electric cars.

[horridohobbies]

If the Chinese EVs aren't as good as Americans expect, why fret over Chinese EV exports? Why impose tariffs? If the cars do not suit American taste, then they won't sell. Period. End of story.

[kanavaro]

If Chinese cars cannot succeed overseas against U.S. legacy automakers, then why are we imposing tariffs on them?

[holycrapitsjake_]

As someone who works in automotive out in Michigan, I’ll say that China’s growth in EVs has been anticipated for a long while now. There’s not a single global supplier that doesn’t have Chinese auto as a massive revenue growth projection going into the late 2020s and beyond. We’ve been kinda living in a bubble over here in the states while BYD, SAIC, Geely, Great Wall, Nio, and a bunch of other companies that Americans haven’t even heard of have been slowly penetrating market share through the rest of the world. Benchmarking companies like Caresoft and A2MAC are barely getting their hands on recent model year Chinese EVs for teardown, and there is nothing to laugh about on these products. The US and EU wouldn’t be threatening massive tariffs on Chinese EVs if they weren’t afraid of a threat.

[machodude]

@10:57 Are you serious that Chinese EV makers are not focusing on performance? What car did you test drive there?

the NIO you drove can accelerate from 0-100km/h (0-62mi/h) in under 5s. The top speed is 313km/h (194mi/h)

....and did you try or even heard of the Zeekr 001 FR, the BYD Yangwang U9 and Aion Hyper SSR? They can make 0-100km/h (0-62mi/h) in around 2s. Not to even mentioned the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra but simply their Max. They (even a smart phone company) are building exotic EVs; and where's the Apple EV which had been bluffing for over a decade? These information are not only black and white but also available even online with different videos and clips to support.

Do more research before making such claim!

CNBC! Please DO NOT follow the BBC and CNN path to misinform your audience.

There's nowhere to hide when you tried so hard to delude the crowd by feeding false infos, the world has changed when social media rises and everyone can report hardcore facts on spot and even livestream without manipulated content to mislead others!

[JoeShenanigans]

The title should be Comparing old Chinese electric cars to a new Tesla Model Y.

[ankita]

Ridiculous. She used the oldest nio model and swap station. This woman clearly had an agenda to bash the Chinese EVs and praise Tesla. This wasn’t a fair comparison

[fofoqueiro]

😂 it's fun to see how US reports China becomes similar to how North Korea reports US. Everything can be framed in a negative narrative.

[lijiang]

Over the years US has always been "fk the customers our CEOs need another yacht"

[johnslugger]

*I am a Veteran in a wheel chair. I am still waiting for an EV van that has a wheel chair lift.*

[andrewchen]

That’s right! If the Chinese enterprises are not doing well, blame the Chinese government for dictatorship…but if the Chinese enterprises are doing too well, blame the Chinese government for too much support. 🎉

[anode]

Even something positive is reported in a negative way

[joshgonzalez]

Now that is smart, changing batteries instead of waiting an hour to charge.

[brandonweemhoff]

BYD is taking over the Indonesian EV market.