Now you know who is BYD
BYD was founded in 1995 in Shenzhen as a battery manufacturer. In 2003, they took over the Chinese state-owned Tsinchuan Automobile Company and started working on eletric vehicles. 2003 is exactly the year Tesla was founded too. It took +20 years but BYD now surpasses Tesla in worlwide sales.
Let me pat myself on the shoulder and check this prediction from January out of the way:
🟢 The year you’ll know about BYD
My discussion about China’s rise as a leading tech and industrial superpower is not new. Bundled with this discussion is the fact that the way Chinese companies compete with European and American incumbents is complicated as they don’t see markets as if they were lagging twenty years behind: The problem
And back from 2022:
The problem is that EU automakers are still largely talking about the car whereas no one on the other side is competing on the car. Just like Apple doesn't compete with smartphones, Chinese automakers compete as platforms. Platforms with a hardware layer (robust industrial skateboard solutions, among other things), a full software layer (including mapping and payments), an energy layer, and a data layer (including open-source level 5 self-driving). And yes, years of experience in the EV industry and full-on governmental support. - First, they ignore the Chinese EV, then they laugh at it, then they say it's unfair... (2022)
Tariffs anyone?
In the immortal words of G. Clooney "What else?"