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Prominent fans:
BYD boss
Wang Chuanfu
a few years ago with investors
Charlie Munger
and
Warren Buffett
from Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft multi-billionaire
Bill Gates
(from left)
Photo: REUTERS
Many automakers in China have suffered production bottlenecks in recent months due to Covid-19 lockdowns.
The US electric car manufacturer Tesla, for example, previously the global top dog in its business, recently had to accept the end of its series of quarterly sales increases for this reason, among other things.
In the second quarter of 2022, Tesla sold fewer cars worldwide than in the previous quarter for the first time in a long time.
The Chinese manufacturer BYD, on the other hand, has had a first half of the year that was largely unaffected by Corona.
According to a press release , the group, in which US investment
legend Warren Buffett
also holds a stake, was able to increase its sales by more than 300 percent to 641,350 vehicles in the first six months of 2022.
BYD thus dethroned Tesla and its boss Elon Musk
(51) as the most successful seller of electric cars around the world
, at least for this period .
A few days ago, the Americans announced total sales of 564,000 cars for the first half of the year.
In addition to lockdowns in China, Tesla's production was also affected by delivery bottlenecks, especially in the second quarter.
BYD, on the other hand, is fortunate, according to the Financial Times, that its factories in China are hardly in the regions that have been affected by the Corona emergency in recent months.
That's not all: According to "FT", BYD has also moved up in the ranking of battery cell manufacturers.
The group has overtaken LG from South Korea and now occupies second place worldwide behind CATL, also from China, according to the newspaper.
BYD's advance is symbolic of the advance of Chinese electric car manufacturers on the world market.
In Europe in particular, where established corporations such as Volkswagen and Renault are also suffering from a lack of chips and supply bottlenecks, manufacturers from the Far East are currently trying to conquer market shares.
manager magazin already reported on the development a few days ago in an extensive industry report.
The "FT" also quotes analysts who expect a "tectonic shift" in the global car market in view of Chinese electric car manufacturers who are increasingly focusing on the export business.
BYD was founded in 1995 by the Chinese chemist
Wang Chuanfu
(56), who still heads the group today.
The company is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, but says it now has more than 30 production sites worldwide.
In addition to electric cars and battery cells, the conglomerate also produces batteries for mobile phones, for example.
In 2021, BYD ("Build Your Dreams") achieved total sales of almost 211.3 billion yuan (about 30 billion euros), a growth of 38 percent over the previous year.
However, net income attributable to BYD shareholders fell 28 percent to just over 3 billion yuan ($500 million) over the same period.
BYD shares have roughly doubled in value since the spring
However, BYD stock has made investors happy in recent months.
The stock has roughly doubled in value from a March low.
BYD is currently traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange with a market value of around 127 billion euros.
For comparison: Tesla currently has a market value of 706 billion dollars (676 billion euros).
At Volkswagen, the stock market value is currently 75.8 billion euros.
cr
