World's largest EV maker brands Labour's Electric Car Grant 'stupid'
Labour last week announced a £4.5billion package to support the transition to zero emission transport with a new £650million-backed Electric Car Grant taking centre stage and attracting much attention - though not all for the right reasons.
There's already widespread criticism of the scheme with experts calling it 'a waste of public spending' and industry warning it could further compound 'rampant EV depreciation'. But BYD's rejection of the initiative is perhaps the most scathing reaction so far.
It has been fuelled by reports that Chinese car makers have seemingly been left short by the UK Government; it is reported that the region's ongoing reliance on coal-powered energy for its vehicle assembly and battery manufacturing will fail to adhere to the scheme's sustainability criteria.
Manufacturers will discover if they've met the required thresholds to qualify early next month.
BYD's CEO Wang Chuanfu called the subsidies a 'bit of a joke', hitting out at their effectiveness. He told the Financial Times: 'They are too small and too late. By the time they start to take effect, the market will already be saturated with Chinese EVs.'
BYD's vice-president Stella Li, also predicts that the Chinese brand's sales wouldn't be affected by the policy, telling the FT that the world's biggest EV producer is undeterred and will create 5,000 more jobs by next year as part of its rapid European expansion.
On 15 July, Transport Secretary Heid Alexander announced that drivers across the UK will soon enjoy discounts on a range of new electric cars of up to £3,750.
Part of the Plan for Change, the grant is aimed at making electric car ownership a reality for thousands of people by 'putting money back in working people's pockets'.
Supporting Labour's phase out of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, the Electric Car Grant (ECG) is the first buyers will get incentives for new EV purchases since the previous Conservative regime withdrew its Plug-In Car Grant in 2022.
Although cars price at or under £37,000 are eligible, many won't make the cut for the highest available subsidy of £3,750, let alone the lower £1,500 grant allowance, if they fail to meet stringent manufacturing emissions barometers.
Manufacturers have been invited to apply for the grant scheme, though it is unclear which models will be eligible.
Reports have said the Department for Transport will provide a list of qualifying EVs on 11 August. This is Money is seeking confirmation from the department to verify this date.
However, Chinese car makers almost certainly face the biggest difficulties qualifying, with recent reports suggesting their EVs will be banned altogether.
While many Chinese manufacturers - including MG, LeapMotor and Great Wall Motors (GWM) - have already announced their own EV grants of similar discounted value to compensate, BYD says it isn't going to follow suit.
Instead it's going against the grain and dismissing both the introducing of the grants and their use.
'It does not make any sense. This subsidy actually sounds like they will give some companies a benefit, but it's more like a drug. If you get rid of this, you will suffer,' Li told the FT.
Alfredo Altavilla, a special advisor for BYD's European operations, also said that there's not way to prevent the success of Chinese-made cars in the long run: 'The question is, is there any European government who can afford to fight against Chinese-made cars forever? No. So what's the purpose of doing all this?'
To prove a point, BYD is going full steam ahead with its expansion plans, aiming to produce cars in Hungary and Turkey and open 2,000 retail stores in Europe, 280 of which will be in the UK.
Each dealership will employ around 20 people.
BYD has also signed a new sponsorship deal with Italian football club Inter Milan to appear on the back of team shirts. The arrangement will see both the men's first team and its top management and coaches provided with 70 BYD vehicles.
The Shenzhen-based company is building on its highly successful Euro 2024 sponsorship which helped push brand awareness in the UK from just one per cent in 2023 to 31 per cent in 2024.
Li said: 'My dream is in five years, you're walking in a supermarket and everyone will know, 'oh, BYD, we know them, they're a high-tech company'.
In the fourth quarter of 2024 BYD overtook Tesla as the largest EV manufacturer in the world, and as of April 2025 it also sold more pure EVs in Europe than Tesla for the first time.
As such it's been called an 'overnight success' and as of March 2025 has sold a whopping 11.6 million EVs.
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