WALKING THE TALK

BYD and its brands show their mettle in China proving ground

- Pablo Salapantan

AS EVERY wise person will tell you, if you're looking at getting a new car, actually testing it on the road is the only way to confirm how it will perform as a daily driver. However, when it comes to more rigorous or extreme performance, we usually rely on the manufacturer’s word. In rare cases, we're actually able to witness extreme tests or be able to drive these cars in various conditions.

Such was the case during my latest trip to China with BYD, where the brand made its cars walk the talk, so to speak.

BYD Philippines hosted a rather size-able delegation of media and content creators for a trip to the brand’s stomping ground in China. We first made a stop at BYD’s global headquarters in Shenzhen, then flew to the simultaneously historic and modern city of Zhengzhou to experience both the Di-Space New Energy Museum, and the state-of-the-art testing ground, the BYD Zhengzhou All-Terrain Circuit located on the outskirts of the city.

When we arrived at the proving ground, we were immediately greeted by the brand-spanking-new facility, which opened just last Aug. 14.

A massive main lobby doubles as a showroom for BYD vehicles. On this floor is a coffee shop, a drive simulator area, a gift shop, and a few conference rooms. We made our way to one of the rooms to get a lowdown on the activities that we'd be partaking in. This excited us more as we were told we are the first media contingent from Asia-Pacific to tour this new facility.

SHOWCASE AT ZHENGZHOU