When Chinese cars go global, plug-in hybrids and range extenders will present significant "opportunities."

Recently, BYD has once again allowed Chinese automobiles to gain recognition and respect.

In the just - ended November, the new car sales in Germany reached 250,700 units, a year - on - year increase of 2.5%. Among them, pure electric vehicles showed rapid growth, with sales reaching 55,700 units, a year - on - year surge of 58.5%, and the market share rising to 22.2%.

Against this background, the new car registrations of BYD in the local area reached 4,026 units, a year - on - year explosion of 834%. As the most prominent contributor, the new car registrations of the Seal - U DM - i (the domestic model is "Song PLUS DM - i") reached 1,552 units, making it the best - selling plug - in hybrid model in Germany.

BYD's strong performance has instantly attracted extensive attention from European foreign media.

You know, Germany has always been regarded as the jewel in the crown of the entire European automobile industry. Undoubtedly, this Chinese new energy vehicle giant is "conquering" this most crucial position with actions.

Since this year, if we try to select the most outstanding part of BYD, I believe most readers will vote for the overseas expansion segment. Especially against the backdrop of increasing pressure on domestic sales, the amazing output in this dimension has ensured the rapid growth of the entire enterprise.

Taking the just - ended November as an example again, BYD exported a total of 131,661 passenger cars and pickups overseas, a year - on - year increase of 297%. Precisely because of the strong contribution in November, its cumulative overseas exports have reached 916,764 units, far exceeding the established target of 800,000 units in advance, and it is almost certain to finally break through the one - million - unit mark.

Facing such a strong situation, one can't help but sigh again, "While many competitors are still struggling in the quagmire of the domestic market, BYD has long set sail on a broader course. It has fully transformed into a new automotive giant with global production, resilient supply chains, strong brand recognition, and a full - range product layout."

More straightforwardly, the internal competition in the Chinese auto market is becoming increasingly fierce. To break through in such a highly competitive quagmire, one must rely on the support and feedback from the overseas market. For any domestic brand, without the support of a global perspective, it means bottlenecks and ceilings are clearly there.

In contrast, BYD accurately identified the fleeting opportunities and windows in advance and firmly grasped them. From the product end, to the technology end, to the marketing end, and then to the service end, it firmly adheres to the strategic policy of not only going out, but also integrating and rising in the overseas market.

Undoubtedly, its overall approach has become a model worthy of in - depth study by everyone.

Of course, the reason why BYD's overseas expansion has stridden into the harvest period this year is not only because the seeds sown before have gradually taken root and germinated, but also because of a very important "catalyst" - the large - scale globalization of its main plug - in hybrid models.

Just like the example at the beginning, in Germany, and even in Europe, including Australia, South America and other places, the Song PLUS DM - i has become a very important "pillar model".

Combined with relevant statistics, in the first 11 months of this year, its cumulative overseas exports reached 224,036 units, a year - on - year surge of 155.5%. Simply calculated, it accounts for about 25% of BYD's total overseas exports.

Let me ask, what can you infer from this? My answer points directly to, "For Chinese automobiles going global, plug - in hybrids will be a huge opportunity point."

As for the reason, "Looking at various niche markets around the world, the acceptance of pure electric vehicles is far lower than that in China. And just in terms of the convenience of charging facilities, the experience is also far from that in China. In such a general environment, it is completely reasonable for plug - in hybrid models to be popular because they can not only ensure the comprehensive cost of use but also solve the range anxiety."

Continuing to focus on the Song PLUS DM - i, in BYD's domestic product matrix, it is actually gradually fading out of the market. But when taken abroad, it can still achieve a dimensionality - reduction strike and dominate the market with its excellent configuration on the basis of a much higher selling price than in the domestic market, making local consumers willingly pay the bill.

Undoubtedly, such a business with both high volume and high price is really tempting.

According to the data released by the Passenger Car Association, in November, 284,000 new energy passenger cars were exported, a year - on - year increase of 243.3% and a month - on - month increase of 19.3%, accounting for 47.3% of the total passenger car exports, an increase of 26.3 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

Further broken down, pure electric vehicles accounted for 57% of the new energy exports, compared with 74% in the same period last year. The exports of A00 + A0 - class pure electric vehicles, as the core focus, accounted for 61% of the pure electric vehicle exports, compared with 59% in the same period last year.

With the manifestation of the scale advantage of Chinese new energy vehicles and the demand for market expansion, more and more new energy brand products made in China are going global, and their recognition overseas continues to increase.

In November, plug - in hybrid models accounted for 42% of the new energy exports, a significant increase compared with 26% in the same period last year. According to the Passenger Car Association, "Although there have been some external interferences from other countries recently, the exports of domestic plug - in hybrids to developing countries have grown rapidly and the prospects are bright."

This judgment is also very consistent with the theme of today's article.

Next, for Chinese automobiles going global, pure electric and plug - in hybrid vehicles are very likely to divide the market evenly. Of course, the so - called "plug - in hybrid" here is bound to include another power form, "range - extended".

"I believe everyone has seen that XPeng's overseas expansion pace has accelerated this year. I think among all the new - force car - makers, we are doing the best in the overseas market. In terms of the number of insured vehicles, XPeng is the first, and in terms of unit price, XPeng is also the first."

This somewhat pretentious statement comes from He Xiaopeng during an exclusive interview after the launch of the X9 range - extended version. In his view, the global vehicle - using scenarios are too complex, and pure electric vehicles cannot cover everything. The reason why XPeng chose to enter the range - extended vehicle market and plans to launch up to 7 models next year is, on the one hand, to meet domestic demand, and on the other hand, for overseas expansion.

Coincidentally, during an exclusive interview after the launch of the Leapmotor Lafa5, Zhu Jiangming expressed a similar view. Next year, Leapmotor will aim for one million vehicles. To achieve such a rather difficult goal, the contribution from the overseas market must be particularly crucial. Compared with pure electric models, range - extended models also shoulder a heavy responsibility.

Little did we know that recently, there has been a piece of news making a lot of noise.

It is reported that the European Commission will lower the standard of banning the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars starting from 2035, and instead allow some plug - in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles equipped with fuel range - extenders to be launched on the market. The new proposal requires that by 2035, the automobile exhaust emissions in Europe should be reduced by 90% compared with the current target, and the original target was a 100% reduction.

In this regard, we can feel that the most crucial central idea points to: "The European people simply cannot do without internal combustion engines."

Such policy adjustments and concessions, on the one hand, continue to prove that a too - radical shift to pure electric vehicles will drag down the entire European automobile industry. On the other hand, it undoubtedly indirectly proves that the plug - in hybrid and range - extended products from the far - away East are bringing a huge shock to the entire European automobile industry.

The impact of this technological revolution is far more violent than expected.

And this is precisely where the opportunity lies for Chinese automobiles going global. For automakers that have chosen to develop in two directions, as long as they are down - to - earth and hard - working, they can easily taste the sweetness.

This year, everyone thought that the growth of plug - in hybrid and range - extended vehicles in the domestic market was a bit sluggish; unexpectedly, abroad, their good days are just beginning.

There is a vast world ahead.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Automobile Commune" (ID: iAUTO2010), author: Cui Liwen, published by 36Kr with permission.