BYD

	BYD
Country	China
Parent	Independent
Subsidiaries	-
Brands	BYD
Location	Headquarters: Shenzhen R&D center: Shanghai, Shenzhen Main assembly plants: Xi An, Shenzhen
Sales figures	2016: 496,648 units 2015: 455,400 units 2014: 437,900 units 2013: 506,200 units 2012: 420,000 units 2011: 437,000 units 2010: 519,800 units 2009: 448,000 units 2008: 170,000 units 2007: 85,942 units 2006: 55,038 units 2005: 16,000 units 2016 domestic sales by model: F0: 10,865 units F3: 130,114 units Surui: 33,539 units G5: 4,562 units E5: 15,639 units Qin: 32,524 units S6: 1,928 units E6: 20,605 units Yuan: 45,838 units Song: 100,042 units S7: 65,360 units Tang: 31,405 units Reference: http://www.qqbenz.com/ http://www.qichexl.com/a/xiaoliangpaixing/
Introduction	BYD, reportedly stands for "Build Your Dreams", is one of the few privately-owned car makers in China. Like most other Chinese car makers, BYD emphasized that it developed its cars by itself, but in fact they are unauthorized copies of Toyota Corolla, Aygo and Honda Accord ! Such absurdity can only happen in China. Nevertheless, BYD does grow rapidly in the domestic market. It even attracted American investor Warren Buffett to acquire 10% of its stakes, thanks to the prospect of its battery technology. Before entering car production, BYD was already a world-leading mobile phone battery supplier. This give it a strong advantage in develping hybrid and electric vehicles. In late 2008, it stunned the world by introducing the world's first mass production plug-in hybrid vehicle, F3DM, beating the likes of Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius Mk4. No wonder Buffett described it as "a small company with big ambition". How big? BYD set a goal to become the No. 1 car maker in China by 2015 and No. 1 globally by 2025, believe or not!
Brief History	BYD was founded in 1995 in Shenzhen as a producer of mobile phone rechargeable batteries. As foreign brands like Motorola and Nokia started outsourcing components and assembly to low-cost countries, BYD took the opportunity to rise to the world's biggest supplier of mobile phone batteries and one of the major subcontractors for mobile phone assembly. In 2003, foreseeing the bright prospect of car industry, the company decided to enter car production business by purchasing an existing car maker, Qinchuan Auto of Xian. Through capitalization from the Hong Kong stock market, it invested into expanding the Xian factory and development of its new compact sedan, F3. This car closely modelled the contemporary Toyota Corolla, even though BYD claimed it developed the car by itself. Its engines were sourced from Mitsubishi. It would become one of the best selling models in its segment and a core model of the company. F3DM (2008) - world's first production plug-in hybrid car In the next few years, more Japanese clones arrived: the F6 sedan mirrored Honda Accord, while F0 minicar was a carbon-copy of Toyota Aygo. BYD still claimed they were self-developed, but no matter exterior & interior design, dimensions and mechanical layouts were also identical to their donor cars. It once again proved that China was still lack of protection for intellectual properties. Nevertheless, in the late 2000s BYD began showing some originality. Its S8 coupe cabriolet might look like Mercedes CLK-class from the front, but it was essentially new elsewhere. Its M6 MPV was a clean sheet design. It also developed its own 4-cylinder family engines and plug-in hybrid powertrain. The latter made debut in F3DM (Dual-Mode) in late 2008 and became the world's first mass production plug-in hybrid car. As BYD has strong advantage in rechargeable battery technology and production, it set its sight on the fast-growing hybrid and electric car market expected in 2010s.