The world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, China’s BYD, is taking a new approach to reach German private customers. Despite its global success, the company has struggled to gain traction in Germany’s consumer market. A new partnership with Munich-based car subscription platform Finn aims to change that.
Starting in July, Finn will begin offering vehicles from BYD as part of its subscription service. Over the next ten months, Finn plans to integrate up to 5,000 BYD electric cars into its fleet. Both companies announced the agreement on Thursday, describing it as a “strategic partnership.”
Through Finn, customers can subscribe to a BYD vehicle for as little as €259 per month. Some models from the Chinese automaker have already appeared on the platform’s website in recent days, signaling the start of the rollout.
While BYD has made gains in Germany, the numbers remain modest. In the first four months of the year, only 2,800 new BYD vehicles were registered in the country. Though this figure is four times higher than in the same period last year, the new collaboration is expected to significantly accelerate the brand’s expansion.
The partnership with Finn is also intended to promote BYD’s cars to private buyers — a segment where the brand remains relatively unknown. According to data from industry analyst Dataforce, BYD delivered only 331 vehicles directly to private customers in Germany between January and April.
To boost visibility and sales, BYD has increasingly relied on so-called tactical registrations — a practice in which manufacturers register vehicles themselves or through intermediaries to inflate delivery figures. This tactic helped BYD surpass its U.S. rival Tesla in the German registration rankings in May.
However, these short-term sales strategies come at a cost. While they may boost numbers, they often involve steep discounts, ultimately reducing profit margins and complicating efforts to position the brand as a premium offering.
“BYD is trying to establish itself as a premium brand in Germany, but it’s not working — the brand is still too unknown,” a former BYD executive told Handelsblatt. Because of this, the Shenzhen-based company is turning to alternative methods, such as the Finn partnership, to reach private customers in one of Europe’s most competitive car markets.
