“I believe the time has come for Chinese brands,” Byd founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu said at the event, standing in front of an image of the logos of 12 major Chinese automakers.

“It’s an emotional need for the 1.4 billion Chinese people to see a Chinese brand becoming global,” he said.

The call by Byd — Tesla’s closest rival in the global electric vehicle sales race — prompted widespread praise, and underscored how China’s carmakers are riven by competition at home and chasing growth overseas.

China’s automakers are locked in a bruising price war that was started by Tesla in January and which shows no signs of easing. They are also all competing in the same global markets, where they face consumer wariness and some regulatory roadblocks.

At a recent event, Byd released a video marking the founding of a dozen rivals from state-run automaker FAW Group in 1956 to commercial EV startups Xpeng, Nio, and Li Auto in the past decade.

The video shows historical footage, sweeping vistas and cars being loaded for export. “Our stories are different from each other but share the same direction,” the narrator says, adding, in reference to exports, “there’s no distinction between you and me.”

It ends with a call for China’s automakers to “demolish the old legends and achieve new world-class brands,” under the slogan, “Chinese Autos”.

The video went viral on social media in China. Executives from Byd’s rivals posted notes of appreciation. In a post on Weibo, Nio chief executive William Li said: 

I feel proud for China’s auto industry — we should learn from BYD’s success. 

Li Auto chief executive Li Xiang posted: “Salute to BYD! Let’s give a thumbs up to every participant in the new energy era.”

Other carmakers warned the message could raise regulatory risks for Chinese brands overseas, including in Europe, where Chinese EV exports face potential anti-dumping scrutiny.

A senior executive of China’s Great Wall Motor shot back that Chinese manufacturers should embrace the “reality of competition”.

In July, The China Association of Auto Manufacturers retracted a pledge, brokered among 16 firms including Byd, to avoid “abnormal pricing.

The industry group said it recognised the deal had violated China’s antitrust law.

Byd has extended its lead in China’s new-energy market, which includes plug-in hybrids and EVs, with a 37% share in the first seven months, up from 29% a year earlier. It also topped VW, China’s longtime sales leader, in total sales.

• Reuters