Why Did BYD Surui Get Discontinued?
2 Answers
Here are the reasons why BYD Surui was discontinued: 1. Insufficient product competitiveness and poor sales: The best period for the Surui was between 2012 and 2014, when monthly sales could maintain over 8,000 units, peaking at 12,000 units. However, after that, Surui's sales gradually declined until mid-2017 to 2018, just before its discontinuation, when monthly sales dropped to only around 500 units. This issue was largely due to the overall lack of product competitiveness of the Surui. 2. To avoid cannibalization: After the Surui was discontinued, BYD launched the Qin to take its place. Therefore, it can be said that BYD discontinued the Surui to make way for the Qin. 3. Unable to meet BYD's future development: BYD's current vehicle names are all named after Chinese dynasties, such as Tang, Song, Yuan, and Qin, which appear as a cohesive whole and are easier for consumers to remember. 4. Poor performance in powertrain, interior materials, and design: Compared to contemporaries like Geely and Chery, the Surui did not hold an advantage. Additionally, the Surui only offered a 1.5L engine with a maximum horsepower of 109, making it very underpowered.
As an ordinary car owner who follows the development of domestic cars, I think it's quite normal for the Surui to be discontinued. When this car was launched in 2012, it was positioned as a family commuter, and the price was indeed affordable, but it hasn't had a major update for almost ten years. Nowadays, consumers prefer SUVs and new energy vehicles, so the sales of older sedans like the Surui are bound to decline. BYD has been focusing on new energy vehicles in recent years, and the Dynasty series is selling extremely well. With limited factory capacity, it's natural to prioritize the production of more profitable models. In the end, it's the market's choice that phases out older products, just like how Nokia's feature phones were naturally replaced by smartphones. However, I heard that some of the Surui's technologies have been applied to the Qin PLUS, which can be considered another form of legacy.
