How China's BYD Overtook Tesla

The Journal.

The Wall Street Journal

Business News, Daily News, News

4.2 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 25 January 2024

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A few years ago, the founder of Chinese automaker BYD was worried the company might not survive. But last year, BYD surpassed Tesla to become the world’s top seller of electric vehicles. WSJ’s Selina Cheng chronicles BYD’s ascent, as well as the challenges it faces holding onto the top spot. Further Reading: - How China’s BYD Became Tesla’s Biggest Threat - Surpassing Tesla, China’s BYD Will Take On the World in 2024 - A Lamborghini-Style EV: BYD Goes Upmarket to Outmaneuver Tesla Further Listening: - Elon Musk’s ‘Demon Mode’ - Tesla’s Big Price Cut Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For a long time, Tesla has been the king of the electric vehicle industry.
0:11.4	But as of a few weeks ago, a new company is wearing the crown. It's called
0:16.2	B. Y. D.
0:18.8	China's B. Y. B. D. B. D. B. D. B. D.
0:21.6	This car company called B Y D. B. Y. D.
0:25.3	B. D. is based in China, and it makes everything from ultra affordable
0:29.4	EVs to passenger vans and even high-end luxury models.
0:34.0	What does BYU stand for?
0:37.0	The company founder in previous interviews
0:40.0	explained that it was actually an acronym that had no meaning initially.
0:47.0	He selected the acronyms because it started with the second alphabet on the list and if the company were to attend events,
0:55.6	conferences, expose they will be sure that the company comes up pretty much up top.
1:00.7	That's our colleague Selina Chang, who covers China's auto industry.
1:05.0	During earlier years, the company's founder and other executives had joked that
1:11.0	UID actually stood for Bring Your Dollars.
1:15.0	Bring your dollars, like we're gonna make some bank over here.
1:19.0	Yeah, I guess they achieved that as well these days.
1:24.8	The company now says that BYD stands for build your dreams.
1:29.6	But the founders joke about bring your dollars turned out to be prescient because the company is selling a lot of cars and in the last three months of 2023
1:41.0	BYD beat Tesla in sales, making it the biggest EV producer on the planet.
1:47.0	Welcome to the Journal, our show about money, business, and power.
1:55.0	I'm Ryan Knudsen.
	...

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