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Source: Securities Times

BYD denies rumor of acquiring the third largest automobile company in the United States

The third largest automobile company in the United States will be acquired by BYD? BYD refuted the rumor!

On the morning of August 16, Li Yunfei, general manager of BYD Group's brand and public relations department, posted on Weibo: "The online rumor that BYD is acquiring Chrysler is false information!" It is understood that Chrysler is the third largest automobile company in the United States, with three major brands: Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep.

"Acquiring a company to enter the US market" is false

Previously, some auto self-media had said that BYD was considering acquiring Chrysler, including all assets of Chrysler's three major brands and eight factories in the United States. If the acquisition is successful, Chrysler will become BYD's brand springboard to enter the US market. In response, Li Yunfei posted a Weibo to refute the rumor.

It is understood that Chrysler is the third largest automobile company in the United States. As Chrysler was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the financial crisis, Fiat has continued to acquire Chrysler shares since 2009. In 2014, Fiat already held 100% of Chrysler's shares, and the two companies merged into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. In 2021, Fiat Chrysler merged with French Peugeot Citroen (Groupe PSA) to become the Stellantis Group.

In the Chinese market, GAC Group and Fiat Chrysler jointly established GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as GAC Fiat Chrysler). However, due to poor car sales and other issues, GAC Fiat Chrysler filed for bankruptcy in 2022.

On August 6, 2024, the JD judicial auction platform showed that the auction of GAC Fiat Chrysler's bankruptcy liquidation assets failed again due to no bids. It is understood that the auction officially started on August 5, involving GAC Fiat Chrysler's Changsha factory, buildings, machinery and equipment and other core assets, with a starting price of 1.532 billion yuan. The first auction of the asset was on July 21, with a starting price of 1.915 billion yuan, and it also failed because no one bid.

Chrysler has not been successful in the Chinese market. BYD has no motivation to acquire Chrysler to enter the US market because BYD has no plans to enter the US market. At the 2024 Milken Institute Global Summit held in May, Li Ke, executive vice president and CEO of the Americas at BYD, said: "We have no plans to sell cars in the United States. The current US market is in a very confusing stage."

It is understood that in May this year, the United States announced the results of the four-year review of the 301 tariffs imposed on China, significantly increasing tariffs on China's "target strategic products", including increasing the import tariff on Chinese electric vehicles from 25% to more than 100%, and doubling the tariff on semiconductors to 50%.

According to the original plan, the new US import tariffs on a series of products including Chinese electric vehicles and their batteries, semiconductors, steel and aluminum products will take effect on August 1 this year. However, on July 30, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a statement saying that the measures to impose substantial tariffs on a series of products imported from China, including electric vehicles and their batteries, which were originally scheduled to take effect on August 1, will be postponed for "at least two weeks."

According to Xinhua News Agency, judging from the more than 1,000 opinions submitted by hundreds of companies, industry associations, etc., the majority are opposed to the imposition of new tariffs on China. The reasons they listed include disrupting the global trade order, raising costs and damaging the interests of enterprises and consumers, making it impossible to seek alternative products, reducing employment, weakening corporate competitive advantages, damaging public health, and affecting the shipping industry.

Despite the restrictions imposed by the United States on Chinese electric vehicles, BYD still hopes to become part of the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain as an automotive supply chain company. "If you look at it from the perspective of batteries, mining, and all technology integration, China's supply chain is now the leading supply chain. So why don't they allow American companies to freely choose the best suppliers? If they can be more open to Chinese suppliers, American OEMs will benefit." Li Ke said at the Milken Institute Global Summit.

BYD strikes hard at black PR

The rumor that BYD is acquiring Chrysler is just one of the rumors BYD has encountered recently. In May this year, a series of spliced ​​and synthesized videos and pictures were circulated online, spreading relevant information such as "BYD is going to launch electric motorcycles", "BYD's first motorcycle is unveiled", and "BYD produces electric bicycles". In response, Li Yunfei said on Weibo: "The above is all false!"

On June 19, Li Yunfei posted on Weibo that a certain car company has recently used black public relations to maliciously slander BYD's brand and products. BYD is soliciting effective clues and evidence of black public relations from netizens and all walks of life. After verification, the provider of effective clues and evidence will be rewarded with RMB 200,000 to 5 million, and the personal information of the provider will be strictly kept confidential.

Earlier in November 2023, Yao Qiang, a car blogger with millions of followers, posted a test video on the Douyin account "Daqinjun Shaanxi Group", saying that BYD's Formula Leopard car "Leopard 5" had a fuel consumption of 18 liters per 100 kilometers. In response to the police's need for evidence investigation, BYD Formula Leopard retrieved relevant vehicle operation data and found that the car had a large number of abnormal driving behaviors on the day of the test, including excessive speed and multiple sudden acceleration and deceleration.

In May 2024, in response to the above behavior, BYD stated that Yao Qiang's abnormal driving behavior had endangered road safety, and his false claims of normal fuel consumption results had also caused serious damage to the BYD Formula Leopard brand and the reputation of the Leopard 5. In addition to calling the police, BYD decided to formally file a lawsuit against Yao Qiang, demanding that he publicly apologize and compensate for losses of 5 million yuan.

According to incomplete statistics from reporters, BYD has been attacked by online rumors many times since 2019. Starting from June 1, 2022, BYD's Internet Reporting Center will adjust the reward for reporting from a maximum of RMB 1 million to RMB 5 million, and it has continued to this day.

At present, rumors are frequently appearing in the automotive industry. Since June, rumors such as "Xiaomi's auto factory stopped production due to high temperatures" and "Ideal Auto's new cars were collectively registered and exported as used cars" have all been officially refuted. Competition in the automotive industry has spawned a war of public opinion on the basis of price wars and technology wars. How to reduce the impact of online rumors on companies has become a "compulsory course" for every auto company.