BYD says it’s a friendly player and a private company. It… is not.
We've written about Chinese automaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) often in this space over the past few months, warning about the company's close ties to China's government and communist party. BYD is one of China's "national champions," playing a key role in the state's quest to dominate the global auto industry — and they've been pulling it off so far.
Legislation is moving forward in Congress to address the national and economic security threat posed by BYD. Language passed by the Senate would ban U.S. taxpayer dollars from being given to Chinese state-owned, controlled or subsidized companies (SOEs) to build rail cars or buses, while similar language in the House would apply to only rail cars.
It's a case of BYD is flexing its muscles, using its connections in Congress in an attempt to block this commonsense legislation – and if that doesn’t work, make sure it only applies to rail. The legislation now sits in conference between Senate and House leaders as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
But in the meantime, we continue to sound the alarm about BYD, trying to counter its bogus claims that it is a friendly player in the electric vehicle scene. We even have a new video:
Please share the video with your friends and neighbors (and on social media). If you haven't already, tell your Members of Congress to support the Senate version of the legislation and ban China's SOEs from receiving taxpayer money to build U.S. rail cars and buses.