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BYD Will Accelerate Bottom-Up EV Trend With Under-$11,000 Model

China has electrified both the low and high ends of its auto market. Budget models are now taking off in India, Indonesia and Thailand, as well.

A BYD Seagull electric vehicle at last month’s Shanghai auto show.

A BYD Seagull electric vehicle at last month’s Shanghai auto show.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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For most of the last decade, electric vehicle adoption was a top-down story. Automakers started offering battery-powered models at the high end of the market and slowly worked their way down to more accessible price points.

Tesla was the standard-bearer of this approach. The company’s debut model, the Roadster, cost more than $100,000. Its two high-volume vehicles, the Model 3 and Y, now start in the low- to mid-$40,000 range.