BYD Company

"BYD" is the pinyin initials of the company's Chinese name Biyadi. The company was originally known as Yadi Electronics (亚迪电子), named after the Yadi Road in Dapeng New District, where the company was once based. According to Wang Chuanfu, when the company was registered, the character "Bi" (比) was added to the name to prevent duplication, and to provide the company with an alphabetical advantage in trade shows. As the name "BYD" had no particular meaning, BYD started adopting a backronymic slogan "Build Your Dreams" when it participated at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in the US. ==History==

Early years On 18 November 1994, Wang Chuanfu gathered a team of 20 people and founded BYD in Buji Town, Longgang District, Shenzhen. The company was formally founded on 10 February 1995 as Shenzhen BYD Battery Company Limited with CN¥ 2.5 million of capital, with a focus on producing rechargeable nickel–cadmium (NiCd) batteries. Wang, at 29 years old, founded the company after noticing an opportunity presented by the shift in Japanese companies from NiCd to high-value nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries while he was working as a vice supervisor at the Beijing Nonferrous Research Institute. He moved to Shenzhen with his cousin Lu Xiangyang and started the company in 1995 to capitalize on the opportunity. BYD's business grew by implementing a redesigned manufacturing approach by incorporating more manual labour, in contrast of the capital-intensive and highly automated processes in Japan. This manufacturing process, along with in-house production of key machinery, contributed to a reduction in unit costs compared to Japanese competitors by around five or six times lower. The company also developed advancements in battery technology, including foamed nickel roller welding, which improved electrode performance. In 1998, BYD's first branch outside China, BYD Europe B.V., was opened in the Netherlands. It also established a branch in the United States called BYD America Corporation in 1999. BYD opened its first industrial park in Kuichong, Shenzhen in 2000. BYD started producing mobile phone components in the early 2000s. By July 2002, BYD became the world's leading NiCd battery manufacturer, surpassing Sanyo, accounting for 65% of global production. In 2007, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn sued BYD for unfair competition and misappropriating confidential data. Lawsuits were filed in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, alleging BYD obtained trade secrets from former Foxconn employees. Previously, BYD had faced unsuccessful patent infringement claims from Sony and Sanyo. In December 2007, the BYD Electronics division is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after multiple delays due to legal disputes with Foxconn. Qinchuan was acquired with the intention of developing battery-powered electric vehicles. BYD's first cars were conventional petrol vehicles such as the BYD F3, with production starting in April 2005. The company produced its first plug-in hybrid vehicle, the BYD F3 DM in 2008, followed by its first production battery electric vehicle, the BYD e6 in 2009. For eleven years, from 2009 to 2020, BYD's automobile business stagnated, with annual sales hovering between 400,000 and 500,000 vehicles, while other local manufacturers experienced growth. From 2020, BYD's sales have grown significantly, driven in part by the rapid increase in new energy vehicle sales in China. Since 2021, it started exporting passenger cars to key markets such as Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Australia. Berkshire Hathaway investment In September 2008, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, invested about US$230 million for a 9.89% share of BYD at HK$8 per share. Buffett credited this investment to Charlie Munger, Berkshire's vice chairman who saw the potential in the company. Since 2022, Berkshire had gradually reduced its shareholding in BYD after its share price increased significantly. , Berkshire held a 6.9% stake in BYD. By September 2025, Berkshire had completely exited its investment in BYD. In 2009, BYD purchased a Chinese solar panel manufacturer to enter the solar panel industry. It began building a 100-megawatt solar power plant in Shangluo, Shaanxi, at a cost of CN¥ 500 million. By 2009, the company secured its position as the second-largest producer of NiMH batteries and the third-largest in Li-ion batteries. In 2016, BYD unveiled a working monorail prototype marketed as "Skyrail" () and announced they will enter the global rail transit market. The first public Skyrail line opened as a long loop line in Yinchuan's flower expo in 2018. Between 2017 and 2019, due to several factors such as the slowdown of BYD Auto's sales, BYD saw its net profit has falling sharply for three consecutive years, especially in 2019 when it dropped to CN¥ 1.6 billion. Wang Chuanfu described it as the "darkest moment", since at that time the company had only one goal, which was to survive. However, Wang insisted on investing CN¥ 8.4 billion in research and development. In 2020, BYD received the equivalent of €2.1 billion in Chinese state subsidies. Recent performance In 2020, BYD established four automotive component manufacturers spun off from BYD divisions under the FinDreams brand, with the intention of supplying parts to other automotive companies. That same year, it introduced the Blade battery, a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery for electric vehicles. While many battery manufacturers were shifting away from LFP due to concerns over energy density, BYD promoted the Blade as a safer alternative with competitive energy performance and energy density. The battery was first used in the BYD Han, a battery electric sedan released in 2020, and later adopted in subsequent models. It also initiated exports of electric vehicles to overseas markets from 2021, mainly to Europe, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Latin America. In 2023, it introduced two new brands: Yangwang and Fangchengbao. In November 2024, BYD hosted an event in Shenzhen to commemorate its 30th anniversary and the production of its 10 millionth new energy vehicle. In the second quarter of 2025, BYD's quarterly profit fell for the first time in more than three years, with net profit totalling 6.4 billion yuan ($894.74 million), down 29.9% from the same period in 2024, as vehicle sales declined in its home market. Reuters reported that the Chinese government's campaign against price wars contributed to the slowdown in BYD's sales. In September 2025, Berkshire Hathaway sold its entire stake in BYD after a 17-year investment that generated a 3,890% return, having begun gradually reducing its position in 2022. In the first quarter of 2026, BYD reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of 4.09 billion yuan ($594 million), a decline of 55.4% year-on-year, while revenue fell 11.8% to 150.23 billion yuan. Total vehicle sales for the quarter were down 30% year-on-year. Several factors contributed to the decline, including the partial withdrawal of national purchase tax exemptions for new energy vehicles at the start of 2026, as well as intensified domestic price competition. Overseas sales partly offset the domestic weakness, with deliveries reaching 321,165 units in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 55.8% year-on-year, accounting for approximately 46% of total BYD vehicle sales for the period. BYD subsequently raised its full-year 2026 overseas sales target to 1.5 million units. ==Subsidiaries and businesses==

BYD Auto BYD Auto was founded in January 2003 by BYD owner Wang Chuanfu, following BYD's acquisition of Xi'an Qinchuan Automobile. It manufactures passenger battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), collectively known as new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China. It also produces electric buses and trucks. Aside from using the BYD main brand, BYD Auto also owns three other brands intended to capture the high-end market, which are Denza, Fangchengbao and Yangwang. The BYD F3, the first car developed by BYD Auto, began production in 2005. The company launched its first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the BYD F3DM in 2008, followed by the BYD e6, its first battery electric vehicle, in 2009. BYD Auto ended production of purely internal combustion engined cars in March 2022. Since 2023, BYD Auto is the largest automobile manufacturer in China by annual sales. , BYD Auto has nine major vehicle production bases in China. In addition, it operates production bases in Uzbekistan and Thailand and is constructing new facilities in Indonesia, Brazil, Hungary, and Turkey. BYD's annual vehicle production capacity in China is 5.82 million vehicles . BYD's automotive business constitutes the majority of BYD's revenue. In 2024, BYD reported a revenue of around from automotive and related products, accounting for 79% of BYD's total revenue. BYD Electronics | Electronics | Consumer electronics }} | Handsets | Handset components }} | BYD Company Limited (65.76%) | Wang Chuanfu (17.81%) }} }} BYD Electronic (International) Company Limited or simply BYD Electronics manufactures handset components and assembles mobile phones for its customers as an OEM or ODM. Created as a subsidiary of BYD in 2002, it issued an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007 having been incorporated in Hong Kong on 14 June 2007. BYD Electronics operated several overseas factories, such as in Cluj, Romania; a factory in Komárom, Hungary that was acquired through the February 2008 purchase of Mirae Hungary Industrial Manufacturer Ltd; As a "one-site mode supplier" especially for mobile phones, the company provides product design, manufacturing, testing, assembly and after sales services. By 2011, notable BYD Electronics customers include Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung. According to Wang Chuanfu in 2021, the company manufactures most Huawei mobile phones. Since 2020, BYD Electronics became one of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Apple's iPad. It also produces iPads in its factory in Vietnam, which went operational in July 2022. The Vietnamese factory is located at the Phu Ha industrial park in the Phú Thọ province. The first phase of the facility has an annual capacity of 4.32 million tablets and 50 million optical prism products. Apple's plan to produce iPads with BYD in India were cancelled due to government regulations stemming from geopolitical concerns between India and China. In August 2023, BYD Electronics has agreed to buy several Chinese factories operated by Jabil, a U.S. manufacturer that supplies major components to Apple. In May 2024, it was announced that BYD Electronics would be added to Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index. In July 2024, BYD Electronics and Luxshare Precision joined the iPhone 16 supply chain, following the relocation of some iPhone production from India back to China due to quality concerns. File:BYD_Electronics_product_portfolio_showcase_02.png|MacBook trackpad and iPod touch File:BYD_Electronics_product_portfolio_showcase_03.png|Casings of various handsets, including smartphones, tablets and laptops File:BYD_Electronics_product_portfolio_showcase_01.png|Apple Magic Keyboard File:A_bag_of_face_masks_made_by_BYD,_2020-04-26.jpg|Single-use medical masks produced by BYD Electronics in 2020 BYD Semiconductor BYD Semiconductor Co., Ltd. was established in 2020 as the successor to the BYD IC Design Department that was established in 2002. manufactures and distributes semiconductor products such as integrated circuits, insulated gate bipolar transistor modules, light emitting diodes, single chips, and other products. The company planned to issue an initial public offering (IPO) before cancelling it in November 2022 as the company chose to increase investments in wafer production. BYD Forklift BYD Forklift was established in 2009 and headquartered in Zhenjiang, Shaoguan. It develops and produces electric forklifts, towing vehicles and robots with an annual production capacity of 30,000 units. The company marketed its forklifts since 2014. FinDreams FinDreams () is the brand name used by four automotive supplier companies owned by BYD. These companies were announced in March 2020 as spin-offs from BYD. The establishment of FinDreams companies was done to grow sales of components to other automotive companies. The companies include FinDreams Battery, FinDreams Powertrain, FinDreams Technology, FinDreams Vision (cancelled), and FinDreams Precision. Its Chinese name, 'Fudi' comes from a poem in the Classic of Poetry, which means honesty, trustworthiness, steadfastness and diligence. FinDreams Battery FinDreams Battery Co., Ltd. was registered on 5 May 2019 as a successor to BYD Lithium Battery Co. Ltd., which was established in 1998. Its products include consumer batteries, electronic batteries, electric vehicle batteries and energy storage batteries. It specializes in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, including blade battery. , the company has established 15 major production bases in more than 10 cities across China. , FinDreams Battery is the world's second largest producer of electric vehicle batteries below CATL. Manufacturers that have been using LFP batteries produced by FinDreams Battery include Tesla, Toyota, Kia, Ford, Suzuki, KG Mobility, Chery, Xiaomi, XPeng, Nio, FAW, JAC, Dongfeng Nissan, Hozon/Neta, and others. In early 2022, the company started construction of a joint venture plant with FAW Group called FAW-FinDreams to produce battery packs. BYD held 51% of the shares, while FAW held the rest. Located in Changchun, Jilin, the plant was designed with a total capacity of 45 GWh. The first battery pack rolled off the plant in July 2023, and the plant went operational in September 2023. , as shown at the IAA Summit 2023, Germany In June 2023, FinDreams Battery established a joint venture with Huaihai Holding Group, which is best known for electric tricycles and electric scooters, intending to establish the world's largest supplier of sodium-ion batteries. In January 2024, construction of the sodium-ion manufacturing plant started. The CN¥10 billion (US$1.4 billion) plant will have a 30 GWh annual production capacity. In February 2024, the company signed an 8-year agreement with American automotive supply company, BorgWarner. FinDreams Battery will supply BorgWarner with blade cells for manufacturing LFP battery packs in Europe, the Americas and several Asia Pacific regions. BorgWarner will also secure an intellectual property license to use FinDreams battery pack design and manufacturing process. In March 2024, FinDreams Battery became a cell supplier to Tesla's energy storage manufacturing in China which operates at the newly built Shanghai Megafactory. It will start supplying 20 percent of the cells needed to produce Tesla's Megapack starting from the first quarter of 2025. BYD Energy Storage FinDreams Battery also owns Shenzhen BYD Energy Storage Co., Ltd., (previously Shenzhen Pingshan FinDreams Battery Co., Ltd.) that produces energy storage products. It produces the BYD Home Energy System, simplified as BYD HES, an integrated product combining solar panels, battery, inverter, etc. This system generated electricity from solar power, and then stored it. In February 2025, BYD Energy Storage announced a contract with Saudi Electricity Company to provide 12.5 GWh of energy storage. FinDreams Powertrain FinDreams Powertrain Co., Ltd. develops and produces engines and powertrain-related parts such as transmissions, axles, electric car platforms and plug-in hybrid systems. is the US spinoff of BYD, focusing on transit solutions in the US and Canada. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, US, the company was announced in 2023 and during a transition period, in which it won awards for innovative school bus designs, was known publicly as BYD | RIDE. RIDE operates the former BYD Coach & Bus facility in Lancaster, California. Type A, C, and D school buses, transit buses and trucks are manufactured and assembled at the facility, which employs about 500 American union workers who are affiliated with the SMART union. RIDE battery electric school buses have been deployed in Oakland, California in concert with Zum. Guided transit SkyRail monorail BYD constructed monorail systems around the world, including the Guang'an Metro and the Guilin Metro in China, Line 17 in São Paulo and the SkyRail Bahia, both in Brazil. BYD is also part of a consortium that was awarded a pre-development contract to build a monorail from the San Fernando Valley to LAX via the Sepulveda Pass in Los Angeles. SkyShuttle elevated tram line in Pingshan, Shenzhen, is owned by BYD. BYD also offers another Automated guideway transit (AGT) system, known as "SkyShuttle" (). SkyShuttle trains are autonomous and battery powered. They run like monorails on beams, with one difference: the guiding wheels of a monorail train embrace the single beam while the SkyShuttle's guiding wheels are located between two beams of the track. Essentially the SkyShuttle acts like a monorail, but with two "rails". In-house development took 7 years and cost over 1.5 billion USD. Operational SkyShuttle systems in China: • Pingshan SkyShuttle, Shenzhen • Bishan SkyShuttle, Chongqing • Jinan SkyShuttle, Jinan == Operations ==

Workforce In 2021, BYD had 288,000 employees. BYD workforce reached 570,000 employees in 2022, after the company hired 280,000 employees in a single year. At that year, BYD became the private enterprise company with the largest workforce in China, and only below several state-owned companies such as China National Petroleum Corporation, State Grid Corporation of China and China Post. By the end of 2023, the company had 704,000 employees, with 133,000 new hires that year. In 2024, BYD hired close to 200,000 new employees in car manufacturing and components. In December 2024, the company has 968,900 employees. 2021 employee sudden death On 5 November 2021, a 36-year-old employee of BYD was reported dead in his rented home. According to his relatives, his sudden death was due to high-intensity overtime work. No autopsy was conducted, so the cause of death remains unclear. BYD agreed to pay the deceased employee's family a lump sum of in compensation. Research and development BYD heavily invested in core component development, with a substantial research and development (R&D) budget and personnel. Founder Securities data reveals that BYD's R&D investment reached in 2021 with a 12.9% rise in R&D personnel, totaling 40,382 employees in 2021. The company also increased its patent filing by 19.7% year-on-year in 2020, with 29,777 patents. In 2023, BYD spent on R&D, which is 6% of its operating income. In that year, the company also recruited 33,000 new R&D personnel, increasing the total number to 102,000. Among these R&D employees, 60% are under the age of 30. Additionally, BYD disclosed in its financial report that the average annual salary for R&D personnel is around . The company has been recognized for innovation; for example it has developed technologies that allow mobile phone batteries to be made at room temperature rather than in expensive, heated dry rooms. When BYD entered the automobile industry, it built a fully integrated automotive supply chain. The company achieved this by reverse engineering competitor products and supplier parts. The company had also achieved proficiency in producing key components for electric vehicles, such as batteries, motors, and electronic control. These initiatives have helped BYD stabilize production costs and ensure steady supply, protecting it from the price and supply fluctuations that have affected the industry. BYD also acquired mineral rights for two plots in Jequitinhonha Valley in Brazil. Covering 852 hectares in Coronel Murta, Minas Gerais, an area known as Brazil's "Lithium Valley", the region recognized for its abundant lithium reserves. In 2023, BYD also formed a joint venture with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to expand refining capacity in China to ensure higher quality standards, reducing reliance on third-party refiners, and improving flexibility in meeting demand surges. (one of which is on the 'BYD Road' () in Pingshan District, Shenzhen), and Shanghai. , BYD's annual vehicle production capacity in China has reached 5.82 million vehicles. In 2020, BYD built a new facility in Chongqing, China for producing its blade battery, which are considered to be the safest EV batteries. In Brazil, it opened its first facility 2015 for the production of electric buses. In April 2017, it inaugurated its second plant for photovoltaic modules. In 2020, BYD opened its third manufacturing plant in the country in Manaus, specifically for lithium iron phosphate batteries, for use in electric buses. It is developing facilities in Campinas and Camaçari, the latter slated to begin producing 150,000 passenger vehicles annually from 2025. In Southeast Asia, BYD is setting up production lines in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand, with capacities ranging from 10,000 to 150,000 vehicles per year. In Europe, BYD has two electric bus assembly facilities in Europe in Komarom, Hungary and Beauvais, France. It plans to open a passenger vehicle plant in Szeged, Hungary by 2026, as well as another in Manisa, Turkey. BYD also operates an electric bus manufacturing plant in Lancaster, California, near Los Angeles, since 2014. == Corporate affairs ==

Business trends The key trends of BYD are (as of the financial year ending 31 December): Management Notable members of the senior management of the company are as follows:Executive director • Wang Chuanfu, also chairman and president Non-executive directors • Lu Xiangyang, co-founder, also vice chairman • Xia Zuoquan Independent non-executive directors • Cai Hongping • Zhang Min • Yu Ling Supervisory Board • Li Yongzhao • Zhu Aiyun • Wang Zhen • Huang Jiangfeng • Tang Mei Senior management • Li Ke (Stella Li), executive vice president, president of BYD in America • He Zhiqi, executive vice president, COO of BYD Passenger Car Division, director of Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automotive • He Long, executive vice president, chairman of FinDreams Battery • Luo Hongbin, senior vice president, chairman of Shenzhen BYD Auto Industrial Co., Ltd. and FinDreams Powertrain • Zhou Yalin, senior vice president, CFO, also CFO of BYD Electronic (International), director of BYD Semiconductor, chairman of BYD Auto Finance, chairman of Shenzhen BYD Property Insurance • Yang Dongsheng, senior vice president • Liu Huanming, vice president • Wang Chuanfang, vice president • Ren Lin, vice president • Zhao Jianping, vice president • Luo Zhongliang, vice president, chairman of FinDreams Technology • Li Wei, officer of the President's Office • Li Qian, company secretary, secretary to the Board, director of BYD Semiconductor == Recognition ==

In 2010, BYD topped the Bloomberg Businessweek Tech 100 that listed fast-growing tech companies. In that year, BusinessWeek ranked BYD the eighth most innovative company in the world and that same year saw Fast Company ranking BYD as the 16th most innovative. In 2016, BYD won the Zayed Future Energy Prize award for Large Corporations for their development of robust rechargeable batteries. In 2017, PV Magazine awarded BYD the top category of innovation on its newly launched battery storage system that advances progress in three categories: modularity, charging and discharging capacity, and efficiency. ==Lawsuits and disputes==

2006–2012 Foxconn disputes In June 2006, Shenzhen Futaihong Precision Industry Company and Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., affiliates of Foxconn Technology Group, filed a lawsuit against BYD in the Shenzhen intermediate people's court. Foxconn alleged that former employees Liu and Si, who had joined BYD's mobile phone design department, had stolen trade secrets. The plaintiff sought 5 million yuan in compensation. During the trial, the Shenzhen intermediate people's court referred the case to the Supreme People's Court, which appointed the Beijing JZSC Intellectual Property Forensic Center to conduct an appraisal. The forensic analysis examined files found at BYD, to determine whether the information was common knowledge. The initial appraisal identified 68 out of 116 Foxconn files as non-public knowledge. Foxconn argued that these files contained critical production, assembly, and testing processes, making them proprietary trade secrets. The company also highlighted that over 400 former employees had moved from Foxconn to BYD, including senior technicians and managers trained in Europe with Foxconn's funding. The rapid growth of BYD's mobile manufacturing business coincided with this employee migration and Foxconn's alleged trade secret leakage. In addition to patent litigation, Foxconn sued BYD in Hong Kong and Illinois, U.S. in June 2007, alleging BYD poached 50 Foxconn employees and was complicit in the stealing of trade secrets to set up a competing cell phone manufacturing operation. Court proceedings disrupted the planned public listing of BYD Electronics in Hong Kong Stock Exchange. BYD's initial listing application expired, leading to a second attempt in September 2007, which was again met with legal action from Foxconn, delaying the listing for another six months. In 2008, the Shenzhen Baoan People's Court ruled that the files in question contained non-public information with economic value, finding BYD guilty of trade secret infringement. Afterwards, Foxconn withdrew the civil proceedings against BYD in mainland China, and sought criminal prosecution, as the case was deemed to involve criminal activity. On 20 March 2008, the former executive director and Vice President of BYD was arrested. Then on 24 and 31 March 2008, two former employees of Foxconn were arrested and sentenced to 1 year and 4 months, and 4 years in prison respectively. against Vice Media alleging defamation for a story about BYD being associated with companies alleged to be using forced Uyghur labor in its supply chain which was published on 11 April 2020. BYD's case was dismissed with prejudice in March 2021. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal. The U.S. Supreme Court denied BYD's petition for review. In November 2020, BYD filed a libel lawsuit against the non-profit Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) and some of its employees for calling BYD an arm of the Chinese state and linking it to Uyghur forced labor. In August 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a final determination on BYD, determining they circumvented tariffs. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 signed into law on 22 December 2024 prohibits the U.S. Department of Defense from procuring BYD batteries on security grounds. In October 2025, the United States Department of Defense stated that BYD merits inclusion on a list of companies linked to China's military. ==References==