Who could have imagined that BYD, now achieving monthly sales of 500.000 units and reigning as China’s top car manufacturer, was still in its darkest hour back in 2019?
This isn’t speculation or exaggeration but comes from an emotional speech by Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD Co., Ltd., at the company’s 30th anniversary celebration and the rollout ceremony of its 10 millionth new energy vehicle.
According to Wang Chuanfu, between 2010 and 2019. BYD faced significant challenges. Its fuel-powered vehicle segment grew slowly, while its DM hybrid technology and fully electric vehicles struggled to gain market acceptance. As a result, annual sales lingered around 400.000 to 500.000 units. Meanwhile, the company heavily invested in new energy R&D, creating a gap between expenditures and returns, which made its development incredibly challenging.
“Back then, BYD’s profits dropped by 40% year-on-year, and the business faced widespread contraction. It was a life-or-death situation. Some competitors even set up recruitment booths outside our doors, poaching many of the skilled engineers we had trained over the years,” Wang recounted. His candid words paint a vivid picture of the immense difficulties BYD endured at the time.
At this point, many might wonder: How did BYD manage to transform from the brink of collapse to achieving 500.000 monthly sales in just five years? What happened behind the scenes?
Wang Chuanfu provided a clear answer during his speech: the secret lies in seven words—“Daring to dream, daring to act, and daring to persist.”
One example is BYD’s bold introduction of the Blade Battery in 2020. at a time when the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China was just 5.4%. Developing such a safe and reliable battery wasn’t easy—it was the result of BYD’s unwavering 18-year commitment to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology. This demonstrates the extent of BYD’s investment in the new energy sector. Simply put, while others viewed new energy vehicles as marginal, BYD had already committed almost all its resources to their development.
Similarly, the revolutionary DM-i Super Hybrid technology launched in 2021 was backed by 17 years of dedicated effort. Another example is the e-Platform 3.0. which also debuted in 2021 but was the result of 14 years of perseverance.
BYD’s “technology reservoir” contains many more innovations, such as Yisifang, DiSus Intelligent Body Control System, Cloud-Powered Suspension, Xuanji Architecture, the fifth-generation DM technology, and Yisanfang, among others. BYD’s steadfast dedication to cutting-edge technologies has finally led to a major breakthrough.
This relentless pursuit of innovation is rooted in BYD’s engineering culture, which Wang Chuanfu described as the company’s soul:
"The soul of the engineer is the soul of BYD. Even if all our assets—factories, patents, and stocks—disappeared, as long as we have our engineers, we can always rebuild from scratch."
To illustrate BYD’s commitment to engineers, consider these numbers: BYD now boasts 11 research institutes and 110.000 engineers. Among the company’s 2024 campus recruits, 70% hold master’s or doctoral degrees, and 80% are involved in R&D roles.
And that’s not all. For the next phase of automotive intelligence, BYD plans to invest 100 billion yuan in integrating artificial intelligence with vehicle technologies, aiming to achieve full vehicle intelligence and secure greater technological leadership for the future.
Clearly, this world-class new energy vehicle company is accelerating on its established path. Given a little more time, BYD might just deliver even more surprises.
