Tesla's main competitor BYD may time its first electric pickup launch with the Cybertruck release
The world's second biggest electric car maker after Tesla - BYD - may be launching a battery-powered pickup truck to coincide with the Cybertruck release next year. What is said to be BYD's first pickup has been spotted in testing around town with a camouflage on.
Not only could BYD release an electric pickup just when Tesla would finally bring its Cybertruck to market, but it could also be in a new line of personalized vehicles that can be customized endlessly by the buyer, for which BYD plans to set special dealership relationships. As a reminder, BYD was first to announce it is giving up on cars with just an internal combustion engine, and will only make hybrids and electric vehicles from now on, while transitioning to an EV-only strategy.
While celebrating the 3 millionth shipment of those "new energy" vehicles a few days back, BYD's Chairman Wang Chuanfu teased the upcoming new brand that will focus on the user's desires and will offer tailor-made solutions. This will be a different line than the company's Yangwang brand for luxury performance vehicles that will also launch in 2023, as soon as this coming quarter.
When it comes to electric pickups, the high-end market will already be sufficiently saturated by US companies like Rivian, Tesla, and Ford or Chevy, so BYD's first such truck may initially be destined for the local market. Interest in such vehicles has been picking up in China, more so that big cities started removing the restrictions before their use this year, but demand for BYD's hybrid and electric flatbed truck remains to be gauged after its exact specs and price become available at some point in 2023.
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