Wang Chuanfu:Leading the Charge

by+Li+Zhuoxi

Wang Chuanfu， president of BYD Company Lim- ited， is typical of pioneers in constructing the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone （SEZ）.

“As a faithful executor and pioneer in carrying out economic reform and opening-up policies， Shenzhen SEZ has created the optimal environment for the development of domestic private enterprises，” remarked Wang Chuanfu at a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Shenzhen SEZ.“It has provided us with soil for innovation， atmosphere for innovation， and a bold， pioneering， enterprising spirit.”

Twenty years ago， Wang quit his job to start his own business in Shenzhen with 2.5 million yuan he borrowed from his relatives， creating BYD with some 20 employees in a used workshop in Liantang. In a few short years， his company became the worlds second largest battery supplier after he turned the battery game upside down.

When his battery business peaked， Wang turned his eyes to automobiles. He quickly silenced the many doubters when his F3 BYD broke sales records in just one year： 2006.

In 2008， Warren Buffett purchased 10 percent of BYD shares for 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars. A year later， Wang Chuanfu brought his products to Berkshire Hathaways global shareholders meeting， where Buffett suggested recommending his product to his President Obama.

In 2011， BYD faced unprecedented downturns. At the general shareholders meeting， Wang promised to keep his leading domestic position in sales in 2015 despite the fact that his company had to cut jobs.

“With improved living conditions in China， nothing can stop the trend of every household owning a car as a basic living condition，” asserted Wang. “We are living on wheels， socially and privately， and the market demand for cars in China approximates 500 million. If one car burns two tons of oil annually， 500 million cars will consume 1 billion tons of oil. Of Chinas total oil， 56.7 percent– 160 million tons， are imported. We can hardly buy so much even its affordable. Therefore， electric cars are the best choice and next step because China is already capable of providing power for 400 million cars a year.”

Four years ago Wang Chuanfu predicted the rise of electric cars， which would bring tremendous opportunity to BYD.

In the first half of 2013， its first batch of electric cars for the European market rolled off the assembly lines.

In September 2014， Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway acquired Van Tuyl Dealer Group， the 6th biggest auto distributor in the United States. The group boasts U.S.s largest network for private auto dealers. His merger was seen as the first step to introduce BYD to the U.S. market. Six months later， BYD received an order for 60 electric buses， its biggest overseas deal yet.

In September 2015， the transportation authority of Washington State announced it would purchase 800 electric buses， including 12 kinds of purely electric products， 10 of which were developed and produced by BYD.

Wangs company was one of the first new energy enterprises in China to enter the stored energy market in North America. Today， BYD is competing in many high-end markets around the world， including the United States， Japan， Germany， and Switzerland， and its new stored energy business accounts for over 50 percent of the American stored energy market.

In two decades， BYD transformed into an international enterprise with operations spanning three industries： IT， automobile， and new energy. Its employees have multiplied from the original 20 to 200，000； and from the rental workshop， the enterprise has expanded to include 11 large industrial parks.

BYD will debut its three state-of-the-art new-energy photovoltaic and stored-energy products at an international new energy exhibition in Munich this year – an opportunity to promote diversified development of new-energy products.

Wang Chuanfu continues charging the global new energy market.