BYD Co. rejected rival Great Wall Motor Co.’s allegations that gasoline engines in two BYD hybrid models failed emissions standards, and said it reserved the right to take legal action.
(Bloomberg) — BYD Co. rejected rival Great Wall Motor Co.’s allegations that gasoline engines in two BYD hybrid models failed emissions standards, and said it reserved the right to take legal action.
The statement came after Great Wall, once China’s top SUV and pickup truck maker, said Thursday that it had lodged a complaint with Chinese regulators that engines in BYD’s Qin Plus and Song Plus plug-in hybrids didn’t meet national emissions standards. Great Wall said it was waiting for an update from the authority to see if a case would be opened.
In response, BYD said it opposed any form of unfair competition.
The tests were conducted by the Tianjin branch of the China Automotive Technology and Research Center at the request of Great Wall, which also purchased and delivered the vehicles, BYD said.
The vehicles had traveled between 450 kilometers and 670 kilometers. However, Chinese testing standards require a third party to procure and deliver vehicles for testing, and they need a mileage of 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) before assessments can be made, BYD said. As a result, the results were invalid, it added.
A fierce price war in China has seen many carmakers take a hit to revenue and profit growth. However, BYD has been an outlier, overtaking Volkswagen AG to become China’s best-selling car brand in the first quarter, with sales up 77% from a year earlier. In contrast, Great Wall’s first-quarter deliveries declined 42%, dropping it to No. 14 in sales, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
Read more: Price War Squeezes Chinese Carmakers With No Relief in Sight
It isn’t the first time Great Wall has generated controversy. In March, it introduced a 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) program to reward people who report on social-media trolling targeting carmakers, only to attract criticism online. The company is also playing catch up in the transition to clean cars, focusing its efforts on launching new plug-in hybrid SUVs.
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