BYD has become a symbol of China’s rapid rise in electric vehicles. The company sold about 4.55 million vehicles globally last year, taking roughly 20% of the overall EV market and ranking No. 1. China, once a minor player in autos through the late 1990s, has moved to the front of the global EV race in about three decades, controlling more than 70% of the global EV market. Dozens of EV brands launch in China each year, and more than 80% eventually disappear. BYD has survived that shakeout and, in 26 years, climbed to the top.
◆ 6.4% share in February; reaches top tier in a year
According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association on the 13th, BYD sold 957 vehicles last month, ranking seventh behind Tesla (7,868), BMW (6,313), Mercedes-Benz (5,322), Lexus (1,113), Volvo (1,095) and Audi (991). Its cumulative sales for January and February totaled 1,347, giving it a 6.43% share and placing it in the top five by market share. The result is notable for a brand that launched in March last year.
BYD’s best-known model is the compact electric SUV Atto 3, credited by some with ushering in a “20 million won EV” era. It has sold 753 units this year. Other models include the compact hatchback Dolphin (81), the midsize SUV Sealion 7 (1,277) and the Seal (193). The company’s appeal is pricing relative to performance: its lineup is priced from 25 million won to 46.9 million won, excluding subsidies.
Battery technology remains central to EV competitiveness. BYD uses its proprietary lithium iron phosphate (LFP) Blade Battery, which it says improves safety and charging convenience. It has also unveiled a second-generation Blade Battery and FLASH charging technology aimed at addressing charging-speed limits and cold-weather performance drops. After six years of development, the second-generation battery can charge from 10% to 70% state of charge in five minutes and to 97% in nine minutes, the company says. A Denza Z9GT equipped with the battery has a driving range of 1,036 kilometers per charge.
BYD is expected to reach cumulative sales of 10,000 units in South Korea within the first quarter. That would be the fastest pace among imported-car brands entering the Korean market, the article said. BMW Korea, which entered in 1995, took seven years to reach 10,000; Mercedes-Benz took three years; Tesla took four.
◆ Learning by rebuilding cars; from an auto backwater to No. 1
BYD stands for “Build Your Dreams,” a slogan tied to the entrepreneurial story of founder and Chairman Wang Chuanfu. Wang, who worked as a nickel-cadmium battery researcher at a Chinese government-affiliated institute, argued that batteries — not engines — would define the future of cars, and that whoever led battery technology would become a key player in the EV era.
He started the company in Shenzhen in 1995 with 2.5 million yuan (540 million won). The article describes his approach as buying premium products, taking them apart and reassembling them — a method applied to EVs to accelerate learning. A widely cited anecdote says he bought one of the first 10 Teslas imported into China by Elon Musk, dismantled it and rebuilt it to study EV design. The article says he continued to buy competitors’ vehicles in bulk, disassemble and reassemble them, and build design know-how that helped propel BYD to the top.
The company’s success has also been attributed to vertical integration — producing batteries, semiconductors and vehicles in-house — which supports price competitiveness and faster production. Investor Charlie Munger once described Wang as someone with “Thomas Edison’s ability to invent and Jack Welch’s ability to manage.” BYD ranks third in market capitalization among global automakers, behind Tesla in the United States and Toyota in Japan.
BYD’s expansion continues. Beyond battery-electric vehicles, it has built out plug-in hybrid lineups and launched premium brands including Denza, Yangwang and Fangchengbao. Yangwang, launched in 2023 and positioned around ultra-high-end hypercar concepts, has been dubbed a “Chinese Rolls-Royce,” the article said, and showcases technologies such as the U8 luxury off-road SUV and the U9 electric supercar. The U8 features amphibious technology that can float for about 30 minutes and a “tank turn” enabled by four independent electric motors controlling each wheel. The U9 is known for movements likened to jumping in place.
The company is increasingly viewed as a global technology player for the EV era, and Wang’s story has become an inspiration for young Chinese entrepreneurs.
Still, controversies remain, including allegations of design copying and battery patent infringement. The article says early BYD models resembled key products from Toyota and Mercedes-Benz, prompting complaints. Tesla CEO Elon Musk also mocked BYD in an interview when asked whether he saw it as a competitor, saying, “I’ve never seen their cars.”
An industry official said BYD built its formula by “copying, revising and developing independently” competitors’ products hundreds of times, but added that to fulfill its “Build Your Dreams” philosophy, it now needs a success story based on originality rather than imitation.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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