By Sherry Qin


BYD unveiled an updated version of its cheapest electric car model, Seagull, and further slashed its starting price, deepening a price war amid rising competition in China, the world's largest car market.

The Chinese electric-vehicle company lowered the starting price of its updated version of Seagull by around 5% to 69,800 yuan ($9,698) on Wednesday.

The price cut came two days after BYD set the starting price for its new Yuan Plus crossover at CNY119,800, around 12% lower than the previous version.

Similarly, rival Tesla rolled out more incentives in China last week, including insurance subsidies, after the U.S. carmaker cut the starting price of its entry-level Model 3 by 5.9% and the price of its Model Y by 2.8% in January.

EV makers have faced greater pressure amid slowing vehicle sales and overcapacity in the world's second-largest economy.

BYD's shipments tumbled to 121,748 vehicles in February from 201,493 a month earlier, while Tesla shipped 60,365 China-made vehicles during February, its lowest monthly reading since late 2022, preliminary data from the China Passenger Car Association showed Monday.


Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-06-24 0220ET