Legal expert says nothing wrong with BYD’s discount campaigns
A legal expert said on Thursday that the discount campaigns by BYD Auto did not violate the law because it was not made to annihilate smaller competitors.
Verapat Pariyawong, the owner of VLA legal advisory firm, said buyers of BYD electric cars and SUVs before the discounts were offered deserve sympathy, but the campaigns did not violate the law.
“By legal principle, a price cut would be unlawful only if it was used to gain an upper hand and to destroy competition,” Verapat said.
“It’s not unlawful to hurt the feelings of buyers although they deserve sympathy.”
He explained that under the key principle of free trade, the government should not interfere in the market mechanism and any interference would be allowed only to protect public interest.
Verapat said the only law that could be applied in the case of the BYD price-cut campaigns was the Trade Competition Act BE 2560 (2017) that prevents big players from cutting prices to annihilate small players.
The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand would be the agency that would have to consider whether price cuts were used to destroy small competitors, he said.
“If BYD raises prices, will buyers be allowed to complain that they failed to buy cars in time and hence could not avail of the lower prices?” Verapat asked.
He said BYD had the right to use marketing strategies to increase its sales or else the company could suffer a loss and might be forced to scale down and reduce its service outlets that would hurt consumers in the end.
On July 1, BYD Auto announced discounts from 140,000 to 160,000 baht for the Dolphin models, compared to the discount of some 40,000 baht under the previous campaign that ended on April 30.
Also on July 1, BYD Auto discounted the prices of four BYD Atto 3 sub-models from 100,000 to 340,000 baht to the dismay of the customers who had purchased them shortly before the campaign.
