BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker, has grown from a manufacturer of mobile phone batteries to a leading player in the global EV market, overtaking Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023. The company’s founder, Wang Chuanfu, started BYD in the 1990s, and by 2003, the company had pivoted to autos, becoming the top car brand in China and a major producer of EV batteries.
BYD’s success is attributed to its ability to build lithium-iron phosphate batteries, which are long-lasting and cost about 30-40% less per kilowatt hour to manufacture. The company’s vehicles are competitively priced, with several models starting under $20,000. For instance, the Seagull model, launched in Munich a few months ago, is priced at $11,500.
In 2023, BYD sold more battery-powered vehicles than Tesla, making it the world’s top EV maker. The company is now aggressively expanding globally, exporting over 240,000 cars across 70 countries last year. It has announced plans for a European factory in Hungary and is reportedly looking for sites in Mexico. As the company prepares for the U.S. market, it aims to enter and compete in the U.S. and Europe to thrive globally.
read more > www.cnbc.com