Author | Dao Ba

“There are two things that I think more, the more I feel amazed and the more I feel full of awe, which are the starry sky above my head and the moral rules deep in my heart.” – Kant

BYD once again makes countless people look up.

On January 5th, the brand and technology release conference of the “Yangan” brand was held in Shenzhen, and BYD officially released its new high-end automotive brand “Yangan” and its core technology “E-Squared”.

The logo of the Yangan brand is inspired by the ancient Chinese character “dian” (meaning “electricity”) in oracle bone script, drawing inspiration and strength from oracle bone script “dian”, and giving the “dian” a new imagination.

Yangan Automobile stated on Weibo that the “twisted glyph” is the prototype of the Chinese character “dian”, representing the technology and product line of new energy vehicles. The simple lines look like lightning bolts, symbolizing the ultimate performance of the product. Its tentacles extend in all directions, representing the fearless exploration of the brand into the unknown.

The Yangan brand is positioned higher than the DENZA brand, with a price range of 800,000 to 1.5 million yuan, and raises the safety and performance performance of new energy vehicles to a new height. The official release of the Yangan brand also completes the last piece of the puzzle for BYD’s passenger car product matrix. Under its umbrella, Wangchao Net, Ocean Net, DENZA, and Yangan brands cover a price range of 5-1.5 million yuan.

This brand new brand, which inherits the strong comprehensive industrial capabilities built by BYD Group over the past 20 years, is ambitious and strives to grasp the right to define the performance of high-end new energy vehicles.

Wang Chuanfu hopes that Yangan will come from the past and move towards the summit of automotive technology with a brave spirit. Supporting this dream is the core technology that Wang Chuanfu is very proud of.

“E-Squared” technology opens up “Yangan”

The new energy Yangan off-road vehicle U8 equipped with “E-Squared” technology demonstrated a variety of abilities, such as lateral movement, turning on the spot, floating on water, and walking on desert as easily as walking on level ground, which is amazing.

What is even more shocking to the audience is that BYD cars equipped with “E-Squared” technology have extreme safety characteristics. After a single wheel burst, the “E-Squared” technology can precisely adjust the torque of the remaining three wheels at a frequency of 1,000 times per second, and perform powerful compensation intervention on the vehicle’s posture in time through the drive wheel to help the driver stop the vehicle stable and controllable to avoid secondary accidents. This technology can reduce the probability of vehicle loss of control to one in a million.

Unlike many other carmakers’ launch events, BYD’s did not feature celebrity endorsements or singing and dancing performances to entertain the audience. The star of the show, spanning over two hours, was the “DiLink 4.0” technology.

According to BYD’s description, this is a power system centered around four independent electric motors which have been restructured across three dimensions – perception, decision-making, and execution – around the characteristics of new energy vehicles. It will completely overturn the power system capability of conventional fuel cars.

This is awe-inspiring, as it is a manifestation of BYD’s technological dreams they have been relentlessly pursuing for the past 20 years.

As early as 2004, BYD Group introduced the ET concept car, whose inspiration came from the cheetah’s control of posture while traveling at high speeds; four independent motors drive the vehicle’s four wheels, giving it four independent and powerful legs, similar to the cheetah. This enhancement not only provides better safety but also significantly better performance. After decades of exploration, BYD finally achieved core breakthroughs in technology and innovative driven technologies that have the potential for mass production.

What draws admiration is not only the “DiLink 4.0” technology, but also BYD’s unparalleled admiration and love for technology since its inception.

For BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu, his immersion in technology is not only his greatest pleasure, but it’s also related to BYD’s strategic development, prospects, and fate.

“Technology is the king, and innovation is the foundation” is BYD’s development philosophy that has been upheld since the beginning. BYD has consistently believed that “technological innovation is the only opportunity to take the lead in change.” Therefore, BYD’s research and development team’s size exceeds 49,000, with over 26,000 authorized patents. BYD is the only carmaker in the world that masters the core new energy vehicle technology of batteries, motors, electronic control, and vehicle regulation-grade chips that form the entire industry chain. Through vertical integration upstream and downstream, BYD has successfully seized the entire electric vehicle industry chain. They have the industry-leading technology of Blade Battery, e-platform 3.0, and DM-i Super Hybrid, etc.

Also, there are people who admire BYD’s unchanging belief. Twenty years ago, BYD entered the automotive industry, always insisting that electrification is the future trend. In April 2022, BYD announced the complete cessation of production of pure gasoline vehicles, becoming the first traditional manufacturer to bid farewell to gasoline vehicles.

Aiming to Change the Global High-end Automotive Landscape

Many more people admired BYD’s “contrary popularity” in 2022, a year that was generally economically down across the world. In that year, BYD presented its most striking financial report after it listed.

In that year, BYD’s new energy vehicles became “sales champions” in the domestic market, surpassing Tesla and rising to the top of the global new energy vehicle market, making Chinese new energy cars stand on the top of the world for the first time. In that year, BYD’s total market value exceeded one trillion for the first time, rising to the top three in the global automotive industry’s market value ranking.

What is BYD also looking up to?

In 2008, Wang Chuanfu said, “The ones who will lead the automotive market in the future are not Americans, not Germans, but Chinese.”

In 2021, the first batch of 100 Tang EVs were sent to Norway, and some people questioned this batch’s choice, as it was named after a Chinese dynasty and had Chinese characters on its buttons. In this regard, Wang Chuanfu said, “A notable feature of the Chinese nation is the Chinese characters. Why can’t we use them?”

In 2022, BYD’s outstanding performance enabled it to enter the Fortune Global 500 list. BYD has many more aspirations for the future, as shown in its official poster that states, “Not just among the Fortune Global 500, industry is not only limited to automobiles, business is not limited to China.”

And now, on January 5, 2023, with the “Million-class” car brand launch of YIFA U8, we welcome the first “million-class” car brand belonging to a Chinese automotive company. Wang Chuanfu said, “The Chinese high-end brand is not just about buying materials, and YIFA will change the global high-end automotive industry’s landscape.”

Can they really achieve it? Every step taken by BYD is accompanied by doubt and disbelief. Of course, there are also flowers and applause.Put every person devoted to electric vehicle and new energy vehicle technology into a longer timeline to better understand their place and significance.

Since the birth of the first electric vehicle in 1834, new energy vehicles have gone through a journey of nearly 190 years. Its rise, fall, revival, development, and challenges are stories among many people, companies, and even countries.

In these stories, there are successes and joys, countless failures, hard-won victories, ridicule and scorn, but also the courage of steadfast belief, persistence, and optimism. And technology never stops advancing as time pushes forward.

Today’s admiration may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do not let the admiration of others cloud your judgement. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses, keep reflecting, and the journey of BYD is still ongoing, with its eyes set on the vast skies and seas.

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.