By ZHOU Shuqi
BYD held a press conference yesterday to celebrate a genuine milestone: its 5-millionth EV. An emotional Chairman and CEO, WANG Chuanfu reflected on BYD's journey.
The BYD badge is a symbol of China's homegrown automotive brands. Founded in 1994 as a battery manufacturer, BYD started out in the automobile industry in 2003, which was immediately followed by a 20 percent collapse in its stock price.
When BYD introduced its EV concept cars in 2004, no one paid much attention. Five million EVs later, the whole world takes note.
In 2008, BYD launched the world's first plug-in hybrid compact sedan, the F3DM, also the first sight of its innovative dual-mode technology. Third-generation DM saw the light of day in 2018, to absolutely no acclaim whatsoever.
By then, the EV market was basically no better than it was back in 2008. At that time, only one in 20 new vehicles was an EV. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were still thought of as quirky, perhaps even silly or eccentric, like mobile phones in 1990. Yet Wang remained resolute on this path. No one thinks EVs are silly today.
Over the course of more than a decade, BYD's commitment to research and development outpaced its net profit. In 2019 BYD spent 8.4 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) on new technologies. That's despite a profit of only 2 billion yuan. And it paid off.
It took 13 years from the launch of the F3DM until BYD celebrated its 1 millionth EV in 2021. After another year and a half, it was 3 million. Nine short months later, and Wang was lighting five million candles on his latest cake and his unwavering commitment was vindicated, exponentially.
During the August 9 celebration, BYD dedicated an exhibit area to other domestic car brands, including Li Auto, NIO, and Xpeng. This is not so much of a BYD party, but much more of a celebration of how far an entire industry has come, and how far there is still to go.
