
He predicted the Chinese electric vehicle boom a year ago. Now, STEPHEN JOHNSON reveals how BYD destroyed Tesla in Australia - and the up-and-coming brands that are even better
In a very strange chapter of motoring history, BYD had only been around for two years when it bought some outdated VN Commodores in 1997 that had been sent to China and converted into slow EVs, with the catchy name of BJ6490.

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He predicted the Chinese electric vehicle boom a year ago. Now, STEPHEN JOHNSON reveals how BYD destroyed Tesla in Australia - and the up-and-coming brands that are even better
Back in the late '90s, a fledging Chinese battery maker bought Australian-made Holden Commodore wagons that had been crudely modified. In a very strange chapter of motoring history, BYD had only been around for two years when it bought some outdated VN Commodores in 1997 that had been sent to China and converted into slow EVs, with the catchy name of BJ6490.