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On volumes she is the real opponent of Tesla, creature of the fickle tycoon Elon Musk. Byd lives up to the motto that is also the acronym (Build your dreams) and does better than the competitor made in the USA for growth in 2023: it travels around + 100%, after overtaking Volkswagen in China.
BYD is not just cars. It is a conglomerate born in 1995, based in Shenzhen, which in the first years of exploits was noted for the production of batteries, of which it is the second largest producer in the world. In reality, the creature founded by the president and CEO Wang Chuanfu (chemist, 57, number 89 in the Bloomberg billionaires ranking with assets of 19.7 billion dollars) is a tech manufacturing giant, which produces battery-powered cars and plug-ins to solar panels, from monorail trains to buses and trucks, from batteries (for cars, bikes and smartphones) to energy storage systems.
The group has seen its turnover rise from 6 billion euros in 2010 to 53 billion in 2022. In just a few years, Byd, of which Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway holds 10% (it was 20% in August 2022 and valued an investment of 232 million in 2008 which became 9.5 billion), has come to dominate the Dragon automotive market, the largest in the world with its 25 million vehicles sold, according to AlixPartners estimates for 2023. In 2022 BYD achieved the leadership in new energy vehicles (NEVs, ie battery electric and plug-in) by selling more than 1.86 million units, thus surpassing the total of 4.3 million from 2017.
This year, with the share rising by 34.5%, in the first six months it was already at 1.25 million, +95% year on year. With the prospect of exceeding the bar of 3 million in the twelve months and therefore undermining Tesla on the share of pure electrics. A further weapon is Denza, a brand of the joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz, 11,058 vehicles sold in May. But the Denza N7 pure electric SUV coupe has just been added to the Denza D9 Mpv, launched in China at a competitive price with that of the Tesla Model Y. Already 20,000 orders are ready to go.
BYD has exported its Nev models to 53 countries. In Europe, it started in Norway in 2021. Its fully electric buses and taxis are currently circulating in over 400 cities in more than 70 countries. In Italy, the Chinese giant starts with four models: the compact SUV Atto3 (prices starting from 41,900 euros) and the luxury sedan Han (from 70 thousand euros), which are joined by the compact Dolphin (available from October, price 30 thousand euros) and the D-segment sports sedan Seal (from 45-55 thousand euros, direct opponent of Tesla Model 3). The relatively lower prices are explained by the e-Platform 3.0 and the proprietary Blade technology of the batteries, which are integrated into the frame. Byd in Europe is planning a factory and is already building a global dealer network to provide sales and after-sales services.