At the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, BYD launched a challenge to the joint venture fuel vehicle with the launch of the "Glory Edition" model, which undoubtedly caused a shock in the automotive industry. While everyone is surprised by the predicament that joint venture fuel vehicles may face, we are more interested in BYD's courage to launch this challenge. So, where does BYD's self-confidence come from to amplify its moves at the beginning of the year?
Looking back on 2023, BYD's sales reached 3.02 million units, helping Chinese car companies win the sales championship in the Chinese auto market again after 39 years. For every three new energy vehicles sold in China, one is BYD; For every two plug-in hybrids sold, one is from BYD.
Globally, the annual sales volume of 3.02 million units enables BYD to maintain its leading position in global new energy vehicle sales. In the fourth quarter of 2023, BYD's pure electric vehicle sales even surpassed Tesla, becoming the global champion in electric vehicle sales. In addition, BYD's annual sales surpassed that of Suzuki Group, ranking ninth in the global car sales list, which is the first and only Chinese brand to enter the top 10 of the global car company sales list in the 70 years of China's development. What's even more rare is that BYD is the only car company in the top 10 of the global car sales list with a continuous increase in market share.
Obviously, BYD's self-confidence comes from its excellent performance. And this self-confidence, I think, also comes from the outstanding performance of BYD in multiple market segments. In 2023, a number of BYD's models, including the Yuan Plus, Song Plus and Qin Family, have achieved excellent sales results in the market.
It is worth mentioning that BYD has not only performed well in the Chinese market, but also in overseas markets. In 2023, BYD's annual exports increased by 334% year-on-year, making it one of the fastest-growing automakers in global brand export sales.
Behind BYD's outstanding sales is its strong comprehensive strength. Leading technology is an important support for BYD to become the global sales champion. At present, BYD has established 11 research institutes and a "technical fish pond" with more than 90,000 engineers, with a cumulative R&D investment of more than 100 billion yuan and more than 4 patents80,000 items. In 2023, BYD released a number of disruptive technologies, such as Yi Sifang, Yunlin and DMO, and applied for more than 6,700 patents, with an average of 27 patents per working day; At the beginning of 2024, BYD will continue to release a new strategy for the intelligent development of new energy vehicles - vehicle intelligence.
BYD's previous implementation of the "same price of oil and electricity" strategy, as well as the current "electricity is lower than oil" strategy, has enabled it to grasp the initiative in product pricing. The advantages of the whole industry chain and the excellent cost control ability brought by the scale effect are also the key factors for its success. With the advantage of vertical integration, BYD's cost control ability is even ahead of Tesla.
At the same time, BYD's forward-looking strategic vision is also an important factor in its excellent sales. With the establishment of multiple brands such as Dynasty, Ocean, Denza, Yangwang, and Equation Leopard, BYD has quickly completed full coverage from household to luxury, from mass to personalization, to meet the diverse needs of the market and users.
As sales increase, so does BYD's international prestige. In the "2023 Industry List Top 10 Cars", BYD's ranking rose 2 places to 6th; In the list of "2023 Fortune Global 500", BYD's ranking rose 224 places to 212th; In the list of "2023 Top 500 Global Brand Value", BYD's ranking rose 147 places to 199th.
The position of the global sales champion and the steady improvement of brand value have injected strong self-confidence into BYD's challenges at the beginning of the year. Qin PLUS Glory Edition, Destroyer 05 Glory Edition, Hantang Glory Edition, Dolphin Glory Edition, Song PLUS Glory Edition, Seal DM-i Glory Edition, Song PRO DM-i Glory Edition and other models have been launched one after another, which is undoubtedly an increase in the battle of glory, which will undoubtedly accelerate the role change between domestic cars and joint venture fuel vehicles.
In addition to launching a strategy for the Chinese market, BYD will become the first new energy vehicle brand to appear in the European Cup during Euro 2024, and the first Chinese car brand to cooperate with the European Cup. Today, BYD's new energy vehicles have entered 78 countries and regions around the world, and will continue to expand overseas markets in the future, contributing to the conversion of global automobiles from oil to electricity and Chinese automobiles going overseas.