BYD, CAR deepen partnership with NEV rental push

Chinese NEV giant BYD has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CAR, China's largest car rental platform, as the two companies deepen their partnership to accelerate the adoption of new energy vehicles in the country's fast-evolving mobility sector.

The agreement, signed on Monday at BYD's headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, outlines a wide-ranging collaboration centered on a major vehicle procurement plan for the 2025 summer vacation season.

The plan builds on their initial tie-up in April and marks a significant step forward in aligning the two companies' ambitions to promote greener, smarter, and more efficient mobility solutions across China.

CAR will scale up its purchase of BYD models, including the popular Qin PLUS DM-i plug-in hybrid and the recently launched Fang Cheng Bao Bao 8 SUV.

The decision comes after strong market feedback during the May Day holiday, when the first batch of vehicles was deployed to rental fleets.

Their smart features and comfortable driving experience have helped position NEVs as viable and desirable options for the rental market, the companies said.

Under the agreement, BYD and CAR will collaborate not only on vehicle procurement but also across operations, marketing, data integration, and used car management.

The two sides plan to co-develop digital tools to optimize fleet operations, expand test-drive initiatives and co-branded campaigns, and explore new resale models for retired rental vehicles.

CAR operates a fleet of 160,000 vehicles and serves more than 1.75 million registered users across over 300 cities.

The partnership would help standardize the use of NEVs in China's rental market and provide an end-to-end demonstration of how green vehicles can be deployed, maintained, and monetized at scale, said the companies.

As China accelerates efforts to meet its "dual carbon" goals of peaking emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, the companies said they will continue leveraging their respective strengths in technology, operations, and market access to offer consumers more intelligent vehicle options and smarter travel experiences.