Chinese automaker BYD (Build Your Dreams) assembled its nine millionth new-energy vehicle (NEV) this week, providing further evidence of its phenomenal growth in recent months and years.
The company, as a conglomerate, has been in existence for 30 years, while the automotive division has been operational since January 2003, so for almost 22 years.
Phenomenal growth
While the total of nine million vehicles assembled is impressive in its own right, what’s truly remarkable is the near-exponential growth in production over the past three years. In May 2021, the company produced its millionth vehicle, which means it has produced eight million since then. By November 2022, the company had assembled its three millionth vehicle.
If you do the math, that means it has produced six million units since then, in just under two years. In the last three months alone, the automaker has cranked out three million NEVs.
This is staggering for a manufacturer that remains little known on a global scale. In July alone, the company sold 342,000 vehicles wherever it is present on the planet.
Moreover, in recent years, BYD has reached new markets outside China, which partly explains its expansion. Recently, the company was recognized as the world's largest in terms of research and development personnel.
Domestically, BYD continues to produce some of the best-selling models on the Chinese market, including the affordable Seagull.
Number 9 million: a 1,200-hp electric coupe
As for the company's nine-millionth vehicle, it's the exotic Yangwang U9, an electric coupe with 1,200 horsepower. Cost of that car? The equivalent of about $240,000 USD. BYD really does make vehicles for all demographics.
From January to August 2024, BYD claims to have sold 2,328,449 vehicles, an increase of 29.92 percent over the same period in 2023.
Tariffs
And all this at a time when the company, which wants to establish itself in North America, is seeing authorities in the U.S. and Canada impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
It’s also worth noting that BYD is also active in other fields, such as car carriers for international markets and battery manufacturing.
