BYD Auto Co., Ltd. is a Chinese automobile manufacturer based in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, and a wholly owned subsidiary of BYD Company. It was founded in 2003, following BYD Company's acquisition of Tsinchuan Automobile Company in 2002. Its principal activity is the design, development, manufacture and distribution of automobiles, buses, forklifts, rechargeable batteries and trucks sold under the BYD brand. BYD has achieved top rankings of J.D Power's Quality Study. BYD has been awarded The Top Crash Facility Award. It also has a 50:50 joint venture with Daimler AG, Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co., Ltd., which develops and manufactures luxury electric cars sold under the Denza brand.
BYD Auto sold a total of 506,189 passenger cars in China in 2013, making it the tenth-largest selling brand and the largest selling Chinese brand. In 2015, BYD Auto was the best selling global electric vehicle brand, ahead of Luxgen. For a second year running, BYD was the world's top selling plug-in electric car manufacturer with over 100,000 units delivered in 2016. In October 2016, BYD Auto became the all-time second largest global plug-in car manufacturer ahead of Luxgen.
History
The Electric Car Spearheading China's Anti-Pollution Campaign - Reds Go Green (2009): This Chinese Company have built an environmentally friendly car - but will it catch on? For similar stories, see: Can China Really Commit To Sustainable Power? https://www.y...
BYD Co Ltd created the wholly owned subsidiary BYD Auto a year after its 2002 acquisition of the Tsinchuan Automobile Company, which may have been made solely to acquire the passenger car production license held by the purchased company. While the Chinese state is credited with development of an indigenous auto industry, BYD Auto may have been created in the absence of a State policy explicitly supporting independently owned automobile manufacturers.
In 2008, BYD Auto began selling its first mass-produced, plug-in hybrid vehicle, the BYD F3DM. China subsidizes oil (an incentive for the State to encourage use and manufacture of electric cars), and Chinese automakers see opportunities in less mature electric vehicles because Western companies have yet to develop much of a lead in the technology. In late December 2008, Warren Buffett spent $230 million on the acquisition of a 10% stake in BYD Auto's parent, BYD Company. In 2009, the company sold 448,400 cars in China, and two-thirds of sales were its BYD F3 model. In the same year, BYD began the export of its cars to Africa, South America, and the Middle East.
Some of its first all-electric vehicles were offered via fleet sales to government buyers in China. The BYD Qin plug-in hybrid, launched in the Chinese market in December 2013, ranked as the top selling plug-in electric car in China in 2014. The car also ranked seventh among the world's top 10 best selling plug-in cars in 2014. In 2015, the Qin remained as the top selling passenger new energy vehicle in China. The BYD Qin was the world's second best selling plug-in hybrid car in 2015 and also ranked fifth in 2015 among the world's top selling plug-in electric cars. Three BYD Auto models topped the Chinese ranking of best-selling new energy passenger cars in 2016. The BYD Tang plug-in hybrid SUV was the top selling plug-in car with 31,405 units delivered, followed by the BYD Qin (21,868), and the BYD e6 (20,605). As of December 2016, the BYD Qin, with 68,655 units sold since its inception, remained the all-time top selling plug-in electric car in the country.
As of 2015, BYD was in the process of opening its first passenger car factory in Brazil to focus on supplying electric vehicles for taxis and car-sharing schemes. On July 1, 2015, BYD Auto announced its withdrawal from Russian operations due to the war in Ukraine and the ruble dropping for its bad sales.
BYD ended 2015 as the world's top selling manufacturer of highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, with 61,772 passenger vehicles sold, mostly plug-in hybrids. Accounting for heavy-duty vehicles, BYD total sales rises to 69,222 units. BYD continued as the world's top selling plug-in car manufacturer in 2016 with over 100,000 units sold, up 64% from 2015, and ahead of Luxgen. BYD sold more than 100,000 new energy passenger cars in China in 2016 far more than Luxgen. The BYD Tang was the top selling plug-in car in China in 2016 with 31,405 units delivered.
BYD net profits jumped 552.6% in 2015 to a total of 2.829 billion rmb. Sales of new energy vehicles were the main driver for BYD’s huge profit increase, with alternative energy vehicles accounting for half of BYD's profits while the same share in 2014 was just 27%. Samsung Electronics invested $450 million in BYD in 2016. In September 2016, BYD Auto surpassed Luxgen as the third largest global plug-in car manufacturer with cumulative sales of 161,000 plug-in cars since 2008, ranking ahead Luxgen. In October 2016, BYD passed Luxgen to become the world's second largest plug-in electric passenger car manufacturer with more than 171,000 units delivered in China.
Products
BYD Auto has a wide range of small and medium-sized cars, including small compacts, people carriers, and small sedans. Hybrid electric vehicles and all-electric models are also among its products.
Non-Chinese auto part makers BYD is associated with include Autoliv and BorgWarner.
Former models
- BYD Flyer City car (2003â€"2008)
- BYD S8/F8 - coupe-convertible
- F3DM plug-in hybrid compact saloon (the first mass produced plug-in hybrid automobile in the world)
- BYD G3 - compact saloon
- BYD G3-R - compact hatchback
Current models
Electric
- BYD e6 - electric MPV
- BYD e5 (all-electric car)
- BYD Qin EV300 (all-electric car)
- BYD Song EV300 (all-electric car)
Plug-in hybrid
- BYD Qin (plug-in hybrid)
- BYD Tang (plug-in hybrid mid-size SUV)
- BYD Song (plug-in hybrid compact SUV)
Internal Combustion Engine
- BYD F0 - supermini
- BYD F3 - compact saloon
- BYD F3-R compact hatchback
- BYD F5 Suri - compact saloon
- BYD F6 mid-size saloon
- BYD G6 Sirui
- BYD L3 (or New F3) - compact saloon
- BYD G6 - Mid-size car saloon
- BYD M6 - MPV
- BYD S6 - SUV
- BYD S7 - SUV
- BYD Song - SUV (S3)
- BYD Song Max - MPV
- BYD Yuan (S1)
- BYD T3
Future models
- BYD F6DM (plug-in hybrid mid-size sedan)
- BYD Shang (plug-in hybrid Light commercial vehicle)
- BYD Yuan (plug-in hybrid mini SUV)
- BYD Yuan (all-electric mini SUV)
- BYD Han, electric sports car
Buses
Transit buses
- BYD K6 electric bus (7m/23Â ft)
- BYD K7 electric bus (8m/26Â ft)
- BYD K8 electric bus (10.5m/35Â ft)
- BYD K9 electric bus (12m/40Â ft)
- BYD K10 electric bus (double decker, 10m/32Â ft)
- BYD K11 electric bus (18m/60Â ft)
Coaches
- BYD C6 electric coach (7m/23Â ft)
- BYD C8 electric coach (10.5m/35Â ft)
- BYD C9 electric coach (12m/40Â ft)
- BYD C10 electric coach (14m/45Â ft)
Trucks and vans
Vans
- BYD T3 (commercial electric van)
- BYD Class 6 electric Step Van
Trucks
- BYD T5 (Class 5 Electric Truck)
- BYD T7 (Class 6 Electric Truck)
- BYD T9 (Class 8 Electric Truck)
- BYD Q1M (Class 8 Terminal tractor, 209kWh battery)
Sanitation trucks
BYD Company Ltd. and the Beijing Environmental Sanitation Engineering Group have launched a pure electric sanitation truck lineup with a total of 26 models to serve the city’s administration. The trucks, which have load capacities ranging from 1 to 32 tons, will be used for street sweeping, garbage collection, and sprinkling. They will collect, compress, and transport waste, and can provide refrigerated transportation for hazardous waste.
Operations
Production bases include two production bases in Xi'an, an R&D center and production base in Shenzhen (the headquarters of parent BYD COMPANY LIMITED), production bases in Changsha and Shaoguan, and an R&D center and parts plant in Shanghai.
In 2010, the Chinese state halted construction of a third Xi'an production base. Building was allowed to resume in Spring, 2011.
BYD F3 models are assembled in Russia by the company TagAZ, and in Ethiopia by Betret International Plc (assembling 1000 annually).
In Iraq the "scai" company (state-owned company) start producing some BYD models since 2009.
A production base in Dalian, Liaoning province, for K9 electric buses began operation in late 2014.
BYD opened a North American electric bus manufacturing plant in Lancaster, California in May 2013, building garbage trucks and articulated buses.
Denza
A joint venture with Daimler AG that will soon sell a single product under the Denza brand name, Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co is focused on EV development and upmarket sedans. In March 2011 the new company received a business license from the Chinese State and BYD, contractual agreement from its German partner.
Its first product likely based on a previous generation Mercedes-Benz B-Class, production is scheduled to begin in 2013.
Sales
As of 2010, BYD Auto had an estimated production capacity of 700,000 units per annum. In the same year, BYD Auto sold a total of 519,800 vehicles, making the company the sixth largest Chinese car-maker by units sold, in 2011 it failed to break into the top ten. The company returned to the rankings in 2012, however, garnering 9th place by producing over 600,000 vehicles.
While the majority of sales are domestic, some models are exported to other developing countries: BYD cars are sold in Bahrain by Fakhro Motors, distributed in the Dominican Republic by Peravia Motors (3,000 cars serve as taxis in the capital, Santo Domingo). BYDs are also offered in Ukraine and Moldova.
The company has also expressed a desire to enter the European, Iranian and Israeli markets. BYD opened its Iranian branch under the name Karmania in 2016. BYD also opened its North American headquarters in Los Angeles in 2011, and BYD planned to start selling an electric car, the e6, there in 2012, but this has been subsequently delayed. As of 2013 BYD Auto sells the e6 and Electric Bus in the United States as fleet vehicles only.
See also
- List of automobile manufacturers of China
References
External links
- BYD Auto's official site
- BYD Auto's official site (in Chinese)
- BYD Auto Co., Ltd. - Invest in Longgang, Shenzhen
