‘China’s car market has lost all reason’ – the country’s largest western carmaker refuses to compete in Tesla and BYD’s EV price war

Ralf Brandstätter, chief operating officer of brand for Volkswagen AG (VW), speaks during the world premiere of the new VW Golf automobile at the automaker's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. (Credit: Markus Hibbeler—Bloomberg via Getty Images)

• Once China’s dominant carmaker before being overtaken by fast-growing EV leader BYD, Volkswagen is now in a rebuilding year. VW Group China boss Ralf Brandstätter says he’s willing to sacrifice market share during the price war to protect the equity of his company’s car brands. Relief is due to come next year with a new range of affordably priced EVs built off the dedicated China-only “CMP” platform.

China’s brutal EV price war waged between industry giant BYD, Tesla and now Xiaomi is increasingly squeezing the country’s largest western carmaker out of the market.