BYD doesn't need to band together; it can be number 1 by its own merit

BYD doesn't need to band together to take on the competition; it can be number 1 by its own merit. Besides, going separately encourages innovation.

BYD produced a cumulative 5 million NEVs as at Aug 9, 2023, becoming the first automaker in the world to achieve this milestone. The jubilee vehicle happens to be a Denza N7.

This is a feat which is unmatched even by Tesla which produced 4.6 million as of the end of June 2023.

According to the Chinese manufacturer, it took just 9 months to move from 3 million NEVs to 5 million NEVs:

1995: BYD battery company founded (initially NiMH)

2003: BYD Auto founded

2008: Introduction of the first NEV

2021 May: 1 million NEVs after 13 years

2022 Nov: 3 million NEVs (18 months after the first million)

2023 Aug: 5 million NEV sales (9 months after the third million)

Production has accelerated since its first million in May 2021. Most recently, BYD set a new record of more than 260,000 NEVs sold in a single month in July, while the volume between January and July exceeded 1.5 million (on track for potential 3 million units in 2023).

Not only is the production and sales volume quickly increasing, but BYD is also accelerating its export efforts, reaching 92,469 units sold outside China during the first seven months of this year. That's more than in all of 2022.

The number of 5 million NEVs includes not only cars (BYD and luxury Denza brand) but also commercial vehicles (vans, trucks and buses). According to BYD, its buses now are used in more than 400 cities in 70 countries (but the vast majority in China), while cars are available in over 54 countries. This is despite BYD starting late to export its NEVs.

In 2022, BYD invested over RMB 20 billion in research and development, which was a 90.31% yoy increase. As of July 2023, fuelled by a team of more than 90,000 R&D professionals, BYD has filing for over 40,000 patents on a global scale, with more than 28,000 of these patents already approved.

CEO Wang Chuanfu said:

Behind BYD's success is the consistent growth of China's auto market. The annual sales of NEVs in China reached 6.887 million, and the market share increased to 25.6%, which was 12.1%s higher yoy, and the global sales accounted for more than 60%, Xinhua News Agency reported. The momentum is likely to persist and push China to surpass Japan as the world's largest exporter of all types of vehicles by the end of 2023, Wu Shuocheng, a veteran automobile analyst said.