When considering electric vehicle dominance worldwide, Tesla, an American company, and BYD, a Chinese company, are the frontrunners.
One Reuters report, however, notes that BYD paddled Tesla on the backside for their Q3/2024 quarterly sales. It adds that BYD will likely continue to pull away from its American competitor.
Unfortunately, BYD’s vehicles aren’t currently sold in the U.S. due to hefty tariffs applied to Chinese EV makers, so you might know little about the company. With that said, here are 16 things you should know about BYD and its dominance in the EV segment.
BYD Started as a Battery Maker
Kicking off operations in 1995, BYD started creating lithium-ion mobile phone batteries in 1996. It went on to provide batteries to companies like Nokia and Motorola. It’s impressive that a company that started off making mobile phone batteries successfully transitioned to EV manufacturing.
BYD Is Based In China
BYD is based in Shenzhen, China. The city is a mover and shaker as far as global tech hubs are concerned. Shenzhen is sometimes referred to as China’s Silicon Valley.
BYD Was Founded By Wang Chuanfu
BYD was founded by Wang Chuanfu, a Chinese chemist and entrepreneur who rose from a poor background to become a billionaire. Under this leadership, BYD has grown to become one of the world’s biggest EV companies.
BYD Stands for Build Your Dreams
If you were wondering whether BYD was an acronym that stands for something, the answer is “Yes.” BYD stands for Build Your Dreams. The Chinese EV maker also builds industrial forklifts, personal passenger vehicles, motorized bikes, businesses, and trucks.
BYD Wants to Cool Planet Earth By 1 Degree Celsius
BYD has some big goals. By promoting clean energy tech and putting its money where its mouth is, the company intends to reduce the Earth’s temperature by 1 degree Celsius. BYD believes focusing on EVs and renewable energy sources will help it slash greenhouse gas emissions.
BYD Manufactured Face Masks During Pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and turned Planet Earth topsy-turvy, BYD assisted in the effort to slow the spread of the virus by making face masks. The company said in a news release that it had opened the world’s biggest face mask manufacturing facility and was running at full capacity to manufacture 5 million masks daily.
BYD Manufactures Many Parts In-House
Another essential thing to know is that BYD manufactures many of its parts in-house. According to one report, it was discovered during a teardown of one of BYD’s vehicles that around three-quarters of the components were manufactured in-house.
The report adds that this gives the Chinese EV maker a 25% cost advantage over European and American vehicle manufacturers.
BYD Yangwang U8 Can Float on Water
While only available in China, the BYD Yangwang U8 can float on water. The luxury vehicle is also fast and can do 0-62 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds. It’s designed with extreme weather systems like flash floods in mind.
BYD Has Slashed a Lot of Emissions
According to one source, BYD has, as of January 11, 2024, saved 48,406,698,138 kilograms of carbon emissions. In so doing, it has offset 806,778,302 trees worth of CO₂.
BYD Don’t Just Make EVs
While best known for manufacturing EVs, BYD is far from a one-trick pony. The Chinese company also focuses on electronics, batteries, commercial vehicles, rail transit, sky shuttle, and sky rail systems.
BYD Stopped Selling Purely ICE Cars in 2022
According to CNBC, BYD is demonstrating its commitment to the EV space by halting production of fully internal combustion engine vehicles in 2022 to concentrate on EVs and plug-in hybrids. The report adds that the Chinese EV maker’s move comes on the heels of Beijing’s commitment to increasing green energy use by 2030.
Meanwhile, the report adds that BYD is one of six vehicle manufacturers to agree to a worldwide pledge to eliminate internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040. The other five automakers are Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, and Ford.
BYD Makes Its Own EV Batteries
Since 2020, BYD has been manufacturing lithium iron phosphate batteries, Blade Batteries, for its EVs. Its batteries are also available for sale to other automakers. According to BYD, its Blade Batteries are configured to make the best use of available space within the battery back. It adds that its batteries are less likely to ignite and cause fires if significantly damaged. Unfortunately, instances of EV batteries catching fire are not some made-up rumor.
BYD Sold North of 3 Million Cars in 2023
CNBC reports that BYD sold more EVs than Tesla in 2023, which marked back-to-hack years when the Chinese company bested its American competitor. In 2023, BYD manufactured 3 million vehicles, while Tesla manufactured 1.84 million EVs.
The report notes that BYD produced 1.6 million EVs and 1.4 million hybrids, which means Tesla was the leader in EV manufacturing.
BYD Has A U.S. Office But Doesn’t Sell Cars Here
BYD has a headquarters office in Los Angeles, California. Since the US has imposed a 27.5% tariff on vehicles made in China, it’s not financially viable for Chinese automakers to sell EVs or hybrids here.
BYD Does Sell Cars in North America
While BYD doesn’t sell vehicles in the US, it is nonetheless already in North America. The Chinese automaker has started selling vehicles in Mexico. It’s believed that BYD wants to build cars in Mexico and use its presence there to sell cars in the US without the tariff threat.
BYD Employs Hundreds of Thousands of People
BYD employed 900,608 people as of September 2024. Of that amount, close to 110,000 work in the R&D department. The company’s employee count at the end of 2023 was 703,504.
BYD Seems to Have Plenty of Roadway Ahead
It’s hard not to be impressed with what BYD has accomplished since transitioning from being solely a maker of batteries for consumer devices to focusing on the electrification of vehicles.
The BYD-Tesla EV race to EV supremacy is alive and well. It’ll be interesting to see how things go in the months ahead.
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