BYD Co. will keep pushing for strong growth in Europe even as the region begins an anti-subsidies probe, said a top executive at the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) juggernaut. “We are a publicly traded company that needs to be managed with transparency and open to sharing information,” BYD’s executive vice president Stella Li said. “So we don’t worry about any investigation going on in Europe.” The European Union formally launched last week an investigation into EVs manufactured in China over alleged subsidies granted by the State. The one-year probe could eventually lead to measures such as import duties. BYD will share all the information required by authorities to dispel any confusion about their production, Li said. The growth of EVs “is a revolution. A lot of people don’t understand, they’re concerned, they’re worried,” Li said. “But once you share the data, the reality, I think they’ll see that there is nothing to be challenged.” Li made these comments in Santiago, Chile. She is part of a delegation of executives touring Latin America, including BYD’s chairman Wang Chuanfu. Wang’s visit to Latin America is a sign of the attention that BYD is giving to the region, Li said. The billionaire also helped launch the company’s Seal sedan in Chile. Earlier Friday, Wang met Chilean President Gabriel Boric, where they discussed accelerating electrification and developing the local lithium industry, Li said. BYD has sold more than 2 million clean cars globally this year through September, half of them fully electric and the rest hybrid. A gauge of battery-powered vehicle sales saw BYD fall just short of toppling Tesla Inc. as the biggest seller of pure-electric car in the third quarter. “We’re not really interested in competing to see who is bigger,” Li said. “We want Tesla to be very successful because the more they are, it will help educate people on electrification.”(SD-Agencies) | 