A small, low-priced electric car has American automakers and politicians shaking in their boots. Launched in 2023 by Chinese automaker BYD, the Seagull sells for around $12,000 in China, with a shorter-range version costing under $10,000, as detailed by the Associated Press.
The car's quality rivals that of EVs made in the United States that cost three times the price. Tariffs on imported Chinese vehicles may have kept the Seagull out of the U.S. market for now, but its low cost has the potential to disrupt the global auto industry.
The AP reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk told industry analysts that Chinese EVs are so good that without trade barriers, "they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world."
The Biden administration has announced that 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs will be enacted this year, citing concerns over U.S. jobs and national security.
"BYD's entry into the U.S. market isn't an if. It's a when," said Sam Fiorani, a vice president at AutoForecast Solutions, per PBS.
The Seagull, weighing about 900 pounds less than Chevrolet's Bolt, can reportedly travel 252 miles on a single charge, per the AP. BYD's in-house manufacturing of batteries and other components makes the car much cheaper to build — and the company sold over 3 million vehicles worldwide last year, per the news outlet.
"Any car company that's not paying attention to them as a competitor is going to be lost when they hit their market," said Fiorani.
While the Seagull would have to be modified to meet U.S. safety standards, BYD has proved it's possible to produce high-quality vehicles at lower costs.
A lower entry point into EVs is huge, as they are generally cheaper to run than their gas-powered counterparts, from routine maintenance to fuel costs.
Charging an EV is usually cheaper than refueling a gas-powered car. They have fewer moving parts, which helps them require less maintenance. Perhaps most importantly, EVs produce no tailpipe pollution, contributing to cleaner air and reducing harmful pollutants that affect public health.
Research from Harvard University estimated that pollution from dirty energy sources was responsible for one in five premature deaths worldwide in 2018.
While the environmental impact of battery production and mineral mining may cause concern, EVs are a cleaner alternative to traditional vehicles overall. Based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration from 2022, the Alternative Fuels Data Center reported that gas-powered vehicles released, on average, the equivalent of 12,594 pounds of carbon air pollution annually, whereas fully electric vehicles released less per year, at 2,727 pounds.
One MIT report estimated by 2050, gas-powered cars will release the equivalent of roughly 225 grams of carbon air pollution per mile, as summarized by the MIT Climate Portal. Battery-powered EVs are projected to produce as little as 50 grams per mile if renewable energy costs keep dropping.
"Once we get more and more clean sources to the grid, the comparison is getting better and better," said Sergey Paltsev, a senior research scientist at MIT.
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