According to Fortune magazine on February 1, billionaire Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Castle Investment Group, said at a conference in Miami on January 30: "It's a bit heartbreaking to see BYD's global sales surpass Tesla. We have a real competitor in China. ”
According to the report, Griffin usually doesn't care about the battle for market share, but when it comes to the field of electric vehicles, it's a different story.
In early January, BYD, which has been actively expanding its international business, revealed that in the fourth quarter of 2023, the company sold a record more than 520,000 electric vehicles. Tesla, on the other hand, delivered just over 480,000 vehicles in the same period.
In recent years, Griffin noted, China has used its scale advantage and relatively low labor costs to dominate many key industries, including solar panels, electric vehicles and consumer electronics, which makes it an important economic competitor to the United States.
"We often ignore the fact that China's economy represents 1.4 billion people," he said. When it comes to simple economies of scale, they have a huge advantage. And this strength is combined with a strong education system that produces several times as many science, technology, engineering and math graduates as the United States. ”
The report also quoted Griffin as saying: "In the foreseeable future, California wants to completely eliminate fuel vehicles." Are we going to do this by buying Chinese cars? Because this is the most cost-effective option for American consumers. ”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in January that Chinese auto companies are the most competitive in the world. "If you don't put up the best barriers, Chinese car companies will almost easily beat most other car companies in the world. They are outstanding. ”
But the report also stressed that while Griffin was concerned that key U.S. industries were being challenged by Chinese rivals, he also said that maintaining a constructive relationship with China was key to moving forward. "I really hope that the détente that has been shown over the past few months will continue. ”
"A rupture would be catastrophic for both economies," Griffin noted. The catastrophic nature of what I think is going to be probably the Great Depression situation. ”
He argues that the U.S. and China need to ensure that a "constructive tone" is maintained in the discussions, even if there are differences. "From the point of view of the country's economic security, it is very important to be able to maintain peace in the region," he said. (Compiled by Julie).
January 14, 2024, "BYD Explorer No1" (BYD "Pioneer No. 1") ro-ro ship arrived at Shenzhen Port Xiaomo International Logistics Port. (Xinhua News Agency).
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