Rising to international prominence, BYD features on Fortune 500 for first time

China has reached a milestone in economic development during the past decade, with GDP leaping from 47.3 trillion yuan ($6.52 trillion) in 2011 to 114.4 trillion yuan last year, according to official statistics. Against this backdrop is the emergence of Chinese companies gaining international recognition, one of which is electric vehicle giant BYD.

Founded in 1995 as a rechargeable battery manufacturer competing in the Chinese market against foreign brands, BYD — short for Build Your Dreams — has grown rapidly in development and production to become the top electric vehicle producer on the planet.

According to the Shenzhen-listed carmaker's latest filing, it sold more than 638,000 new energy (electric and hybrid) passenger vehicles in the first half year of this year, up 324.8 percent year-on-year, overtaking Tesla as the world's biggest electric vehicle producer by the number of vehicles sold.

Christopher Bovis, a professor of international business law at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom, said: "BYD represents a strategic entry by China into a sector which will dominate the production process of private and commercial vehicles. China realized early the importance of electric propulsion in transport solutions and invested heavily in technology, know-how and relations at international levels."

BYD's success has been a result of the country's green transformation. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012 made the development of low-carbon and new energy industries a priority.

The 19th National Congress of the CPC, convened in 2017, further emphasized the importance of green development in the world's second-largest economy.

As a manifestation of these Party platforms, China aims to hit peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Bovis pointed out that China's role in facilitating BYD's success also rests on well-defined investment relationships.

"China has provided uniform treatment and protection for investors, and its policy is already characterized by a high degree of openness for FDI (foreign direct investment)," he said.

For nine consecutive years, BYD has held first place in NEV sales in China. This year, the company was named in the Fortune Global 500 list for the first time, with aggregate sales increasing by 19 percent, the highest annual growth rate in the list's history.

Chris Rudd, deputy vice-chancellor and head of the Singapore campus of Australia's James Cook University, said, "Having visited Chinese automotive companies and their technology partners extensively over the past couple of decades, it is no surprise to me that BYD is poised to emerge as a global market leader."

Rudd attributed this to an increasingly affluent population with predominantly short-haul commuting usage which creates a fertile domestic market.

"This, combined with government incentives, has incentivized a much-needed but astonishingly rapid transition to green energy vehicles," he said.

"That other countries can now benefit from BYD's mature technology platform established in the Chinese context is to be applauded," he added.

Apart from BYD, most of China's major automakers, such as FAW, GWM and SAIC, have also started to make new energy vehicles, and massive investments have been funneled into new energy auto startups.

Some have expanded their presence overseas in recent years.

BYD, in which Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway was once a major investor, established its first overseas subsidiary in the Netherlands in 1998. In Europe alone, the company has now sold more than 3,000 electric buses in 20 countries and over 100 major European cities.

Michael Shu, general manager and managing director at BYD's Europe and International Cooperation Division, said that consistently investing in innovation and technology is the key to the company's overseas expansion.

"We want to make sure this investment is in line with the needs of customers and developments to infrastructure," he added.

Shu highlighted the importance of cooperating with local partners and building mutual trust.

"We are partnering with local businesses and startups to embrace development opportunities and seek mutually beneficial outcomes through closer cooperation. In this way, we can have a better understanding of local requirements, deliver on exacting product specifications and offer total transport solutions to customers," he said.

He cited the BYD-ADL partnership as one example of cooperation.

"With both parties (sharing their own) significant expertise — ADL is a market leader in the UK and BYD has global electric vehicle, power battery and powertrain technologies — the combination of skill sets makes for strong collaboration adapted to the unique features of the UK market," he added.

China is no stranger to pursuing partnership in battery technology in overseas markets, with the recent direct investment of 7.34 billion euros in Hungary by Contemporary Amperex Technology, also known as CATL.

"BYD has attracted institutional investor interest over the last decade, a fact which brings the proposition of it becoming a global leader in battery-operated vehicles close to reality," Bovis said. "BYD's capitalization and performance suggest that it is based on solid foundations with great potential for global leadership in this decade and beyond."

With reducing carbon emissions a global imperative, Shu said BYD remains committed to leveraging effective solutions for sustainable development and has implemented its "Cool the Earth by 1 Degree Celsius" initiative, which is in line with China's plan to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 as well as climate pledges made by other countries.

"Emissions-free electric mobility has become a viable means for future transport development in countries across the world, as they move to balance economic development with rising issues of urban air pollution and climate change," he said. "BYD believes that electrified, emissions-free energy production, storage and usage is the future of energy."