Stella Li, executive vice-president of Chinese car giant BYD, has weighed in on the controversial design of Ferrari's new all-electric Luce, saying she agrees with many of the online comments criticising its appearance. Speaking to The Independent at BYD's headquarters in Shenzhen, Li described the reaction as 'very funny' and noted that some people have compared the Luce to BYD's own Yangwang U9.
Li, recently named World Car Person of the Year, highlighted the performance credentials of the Yangwang U9, which she called 'much better' than the Ferrari. The U9 Xtreme variant boasts 3,000 horsepower and holds the record as the world's fastest production car, with a top speed of 496 km/h (308 mph). Li said BYD's engineers treat the pursuit of speed as a 'big, baby hobby', constantly pushing to outperform rivals.
When pressed for her true opinion on the Luce, Li smiled and said: 'I cannot comment too much. I agree with a lot of people. I like it, but I prefer the U9 – the U9 is much better.'
BYD is also exploring a potential entry into Formula One, with Li confirming the company is 'very interested in motorsports' and is in talks to understand how the platform could showcase BYD's technology. However, she stressed that no final decision has been made.
