Author: Qiukaijun
On May 19th, BYD (002594.SZ) stock skyrocketed by 8.87%, a large red plate marked a congratulations gift.
That day, BYD held the ceremony for the production of the one millionth new energy vehicle at its Shenzhen factory, announcing a milestone achievement.
BYD is the first Chinese and the second global enterprise to achieve this feat.
13 years have passed since BYD sold its first new energy vehicle in 2008 to reach this one million-mark. From a tiny dream of a few people at the beginning, new energy vehicles have become a formidable force globally. In this sense, BYD deserves the applause of being a pioneer in new energy vehicles. The entire new energy vehicle industry should pay tribute with applause.
“Production of one million new energy vehicles is a historic milestone and a new starting point,” said Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD, introducing the progress of DM-i, Pure Electric Platform 3.0, and overseas business at the delivery ceremony, stating BYD will continue on a new journey on a new level.
At the ceremony, BYD also announced that its internationalization strategy will continue to accelerate, with plans to deliver 1,500 Tang EVs to Norway this year, with the first batch of 100 vehicles already offline and set to be shipped by the end of the month, and others in the third quarter to local consumers.
One million new energy vehicles production
On both sides of the road leading to the main venue of the delivery ceremony, BYD showcased the development history of new energy vehicles.
The first picture was taken in 2003. BYD entered the automobile industry by acquiring Xi’an Qin Chuan Automobile.
BYD wanted to build electric vehicles from the beginning. The following year, at the Beijing Auto Show, BYD introduced the pure electric concept car ET, marking the first appearance of new energy vehicles at an international auto show in China.
However, BYD still manufactured fuel vehicles first, and it took another four years to launch the first new energy vehicle for sale, which was a plug-in hybrid. In 2008, BYD F3DM was officially launched and became the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid new energy vehicle. Since then, BYD’s new energy vehicle path opened with plug-in hybrids promoted in private consumption domains and e6 taxis, K9 buses initiated in the public sector.
With the increase in popularity of new energy vehicles, BYD’s electric buses, taxis, ride-hailing cars, and trucks have taken root in various regions. In the private sector, BYD’s plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicle models, especially the Dynasty series which sells for over 300,000 yuan, have been continuously upgraded, enabling BYD to achieve an upward brand leap.
In 2020, the Dynasty series ushered in the BYD Han, a benchmark model. In the first quarter of 2021, the BYD Han continued to sell well, becoming a mid-sized C-class vehicle comparable to the BBA.
At this point, BYD also welcomed the moment when its one millionth new energy vehicle came off the assembly line.
On May 19th, the 1,000,000th new energy vehicle, the BYD Han EV, slowly rolled off the production line. Wang Chuanfu delivered this vehicle, which has special significance, to the chairman and CEO of the Shenzhen V5 Electronic Sports Club and the son of Macau’s casino king, Ho Hung Sun. Many of BYD’s Dynasty elite models have been adopted by celebrities, forming the Dynasty Elite Alliance.
“Walking from zero to one million vehicles is a report card that BYD has handed in as it leads the global automotive industry revolution. It is also a monumental journey of growth for China’s new energy vehicle industry, as it evolves from nothing to something, from small to large, and as it moves toward becoming a new energy vehicle powerhouse from a traditional car power.” said Wang Chuanfu.
After the production line delivery ceremony, BYD also invited representatives of ten vehicle owners, from the 10th, 20th…90th to the 100th position, to light up the one millionth dream device together in commemoration of the achievement of the 1 million-vehicle goal.
“BYD will continue to focus on technological innovation, deep cultivation of fine quality, and perfect sales service,” said Wang Chuanfu.
He introduced that in the plug-in hybrid field, BYD has successively launched three DM-i models in the past three months, entering the mainstream price range of traditional car owners and becoming a disrupter to fuel vehicles. In the pure electric field, BYD has announced that its pure electric vehicles will be fully converted to blade batteries and the pin-puncture test will be used as the enterprise standard. At the Shanghai Auto Show, the e-platform 3.0 was released, achieving the fastest 0-100 km/h acceleration in 2.9 seconds among electric cars, a range of up to 1000 kilometers, and a “flash charge” of 5 minutes for a 150-kilometer drive, born for the next generation of high-performance smart electric vehicles.
The overall logic is that BYD is ready with industry-leading technology and ensures that the products it continuously launches have strong performance. As the overall market becomes increasingly electrified, BYD’s scale of new energy vehicles will also accelerate its expansion.
Based on Wang Chuanfu’s electric vehicle development plan, the largest electric private car will only be fully electric by 2030. Previously, a substantial portion of BYD’s 1 million electric vehicles came from the public transportation sector. With the expansion of electrification in the private sector, particularly in plug-in hybrid vehicles, BYD’s next 1 million vehicles should take less time to reach.
Internationalization Acceleration
“Besides the domestic market, based on the solid foundation and international image built through electrification of public transportation in overseas markets over the past ten years, BYD is actively preparing for the global private car market. The 1,500 Tang EVs equipped with blade batteries will be shipped to Norway this year, and the internationalization strategy will continue to accelerate.” Wang Chuanfu said at the ceremony.
In addition to 1 million new energy vehicles being produced, BYD also launched 100 export versions of Tang EVs at the site.
Wang Chuanfu promised that these Tang EVs will depart for Norway at the end of May and will be delivered to local consumers in the third quarter of this year. BYD plans to deliver 1,500 Tang EVs to Norway by the end of 2021.
How to Accelerate the Arrival of the Next 1 Million Cars?
For BYD, the next 1 million electric vehicles are inevitable; it is only a matter of when.
BYD’s current problem is how to sell the next 1 million vehicles as soon as possible.
In the field of new energy vehicles, BYD used to be lonely; now it faces fierce competition. In the past year or two, Tesla, new Chinese car manufacturers, and independent brands of electric vehicles have taken a significant portion of BYD’s market share.
The rules of automotive consumer behavior have also changed. Although BYD still has strong technological advantages, it needs to learn from its peers in customer needs, product definition, marketing, and service.
If I had the chance to give advice to Wang Chuanfu, I would suggest adding “customer-centric” as a company’s value system and organizational structure building principles, in addition to “focusing on technological innovation, cultivating craftsmanship quality, and improving sales and service.”
I wish BYD the arrival of the next 1 million cars soon.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.