Chinese brand BYD mocks Stellantis and the reliability of its Puretech engines: "Operation PUREFICATION".

Chinese brand BYD kicks off 2026 in Italy with an advertising campaign that's as aggressive as it is mischievously targeted. Called "Operazione PUREFICATION", the campaign openly targets - without ever mentioning it in black and white - the Group. Stellantis and above all one of its most sensitive subjects in recent years: the 1.2 PureTech engine and its famous oil-bath timing belt. Behind a deceptively humorous tone, BYD has adopted a perfectly calculated strategy of provocation. The message is clear: turn a well-known industrial weakness of a European competitor into a selling point.

When technology becomes a marketing weapon

The slogan chosen by BYD immediately sets the tone: "A problem with the belt? With BYD, it's over! The brand highlights its 122,000 R&D engineers, 60,000 registered patents and, above all, a warranty of up to 250,000 km, a figure deliberately contrasted with the mechanical setbacks of the first- and second-generation PureTech.

It's not the first time that Stellantis' three-cylinder engine has been at the heart of debate, but rarely has a competitor dared to attack it so head-on in an official campaign. By explicitly targeting vehicles equipped with an oil-immersed belt, BYD is putting its weight where the European group's reputation has suffered most, notably on the used market, which has been hard hit by buyer mistrust.

Opportunistic solution to a very real problem

Operation PUREFICATION offers a bonus of up to €10,000 for the trade-in of a gasoline vehicle equipped with this controversial technology, provided you switch to a BYD electric or plug-in hybrid model. The scheme is valid in Italy until January 31, 2026, with a maximum benefit applied to the BYD Seal U DM-i in its Design version.

Behind the mockery, the Chinese brand is also responding to a market reality: thousands of Italian (and European) motorists today find themselves with cars penalized on resale because of the PureTech's reputation. In this way, BYD is turning widespread frustration into commercial leverage.

Stellantis has changed... but the image remains

Ironically, Stellantis has already largely corrected the situation. Since 2023, the third-generation 1.2 L has abandoned the belt in favor of a timing chain, and the name PureTech has even disappeared from official communications. Recent models such as the Alfa Romeo Junior, Lancia Ypsilon and Fiat Grande Panda now use this new mechanical evolution.

But in communications, perception often carries more weight than technical reality. BYD thus exploits a problematic heritage that Stellantis still drags along, despite its industrial evolutions. A further demonstration that, in the modern automobile, an engine's reputation can long outlive its shortcomings.