Everyone has heard of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the way he is changing the automobile industry. Entrepreneur Li Shufu is also well known as he is the force behind Zhejiang Geely Holding Group which controls many OEMs including Volvo Car Group and Geely Automobile Additionally, Li Shufu is known for his investments in Mercedes-Benz Group and Aston Martin .
BYD Founder, Chairman and CEO Wang Chuanfu is not well known outside of China but his contributions to the global automobile industry have been enormous. My thesis is that Wang Chuanfu and BYD are changing the world with respect to the automobile industry.
BYD in white below was second only to Tesla in terms of global battery electric vehicle (“BEV”) sales in 2022:
Having degrees in chemistry and materials science, Wang Chuanfu has specialized in batteries for many years. Per CarNewsChina.com, he registered BYD as a manufacturer of rechargeable batteries in February 1995. In addition to making their own batteries, BYD also supplies batteries to other BEV makers like Tesla. An April 3rd article from the Financial Times shows BYD as one of the world’s biggest global battery suppliers:
A November 9th Forbes article explains how BYD provides a cobalt-free alternative to traditional BEV batteries.
