China's rival to Tesla plans UK takeover with giant ship full of £24,000 supercars

This fast-growing brand is taking the eclectic car scene by storm and it's quickly becoming a household name. Chinese car manufacturer BYD has launched a 16-story container ship capable of transporting 9,200 vehicles as it seeks to dominate the UK electric car market competing with Tesla.

The BYD Xi'an - named after the historic city of Xi'an in China's Shaanxi province - is the company's fifth mega-tanker and measures 219m long with a beam of 38m. It has set sail on its maiden voyage to Europe laden with 7,000 cars including the electric Dolphin and Sealion models. The business is targeting rapid growth in Europe following Donald Trump's trade tariffs in the US, which has made their cars prohibitively expensive.

This is Money says: "Emerging from the virtually unknown in 2023, in less than two years it's become the Chinese electric car maker everyone can name, and the biggest EV manufacturer in the world.

"In doing so, it has toppled Elon Musk off the highest step of the podium, earning the moniker the 'Tesla killer'."

According to Reuters, the car will retail for 249,800 yuan (£24,787).

As of March 2025, BYD has sold 11.6 million EVs to date. Tesla on the other hand has sold 7.5 million EVs.

China's Geely, the owner of Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, is the third biggest EV manufacturer in the world, and yet has just 1.4 million EVs comparatively.

The Chinese brand recently announced a partnership with Octopus Energy to launch the Power Pack Bundle - the first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bundle in the UK, which is set to revolutionise the experience for EV drivers.

The Power Pack Bundle was unveiled today at Octopus Energy's Energy Tech Summit. Priced at under £300 a month, it includes a leased V2G-ready BYD Dolphin, a bi-directional Zaptec Pro charger and access to a smart tariff offering completely free home charging.

With complimentary charging, typical EV drivers could see their annual bills reduced by £620 compared to charging on a standard tariff.

By 2030, BYD aims to sell half its cars outside its native land, reports This is Money.

BYD appears to have been an overnight success and the brand continues to lead as one of the quickest developing electric car brands.