BYD: the group, its brands and who controls it
Facts checked
- Private
- SEHK 1211
- SZSE 002594
Listing: Hong Kong (SEHK 1211) since 2002 and Shenzhen (SZSE 002594)
BYD started in Shenzhen in February 1995 as a maker of rechargeable batteries, founded by Wang Chuanfu with backing from his cousin Lü Xiangyang. It supplied cells to handset makers through the late 1990s, listed in Hong Kong in 2002, and entered the car business in January 2003 by buying Xi'an Qinchuan Automobile — a small state-linked carmaker whose value to BYD was its manufacturing licence. The company still describes itself as a technology group rather than a carmaker: batteries, electronics assembly, semiconductors, forklifts and monorail systems sit alongside the vehicles.
The car business is organised into several marques. BYD itself covers the mass market and is split into the Dynasty series, whose models are named after Chinese dynasties, and the Ocean series, named after sea creatures. Denza sits above it, Yangwang is the six- and seven-figure brand, and Fangchengbao makes off-road and rugged models. A separate commercial arm builds electric buses and trucks, including at plants in California and Hungary.
In March 2026 BYD reported 2025 revenue of RMB 803.97bn, up 3.46%, and net profit of RMB 32.62bn, down 18.97% — its first profit fall in five years, which the company attributed to price competition in China. It sold 4,602,436 new-energy vehicles in 2025. The pattern reversed through 2026: sales inside China fell while exports rose sharply, and by August 2026 overseas deliveries were about 44% of the year-to-date total.
BYD is a private company. Wang Chuanfu is chairman and the largest shareholder. Berkshire Hathaway, which bought about a tenth of the Hong Kong-listed shares in 2008, sold down from 2022 and had left entirely by 2025.
Key facts
| Chinese name | 比亚迪 “BEE-yah-DEE” no literal meaning; three characters chosen as a registrable, distinctive name. The English letters are the initials of the pinyin, and 'Build Your Dreams' was attached to them later. |
|---|---|
| Legal name | BYD Company Limited |
| Ownership | Private |
| Founded | 1995 by Wang Chuanfu, with his cousin Lü Xiangyang |
| Headquarters | Shenzhen, Guangdong, China |
| Vehicles | Cars, Commercial vehicles, Buses and coaches and Components |
| Listings | SEHK 1211 and SZSE 002594 |
| 2025 new-energy vehicle sales | 4,602,436 units, up 7.73% on 2024 |
| 2025 revenue | RMB 803.97bn, up 3.46% year on year |
| 2025 net profit | RMB 32.62bn, down 18.97% — the first fall in five years |
| 2025 research and development spending | RMB 63.4bn, up 17%; BYD reports more than 120,000 engineers |
| Employees | about 870,000 at the end of 2025, reported down from about 970,000 a year earlier |
| 2025 overseas passenger-car and pickup sales | 1,049,600 units, up 145%; overseas revenue RMB 310.7bn, 38.65% of the total |
| January-August 2026 sales | 2,668,015 NEVs, down 6.84% year on year, of which 1,162,260 were overseas (up 85.72%) |
| Listings | Hong Kong (SEHK 1211) since 2002 and Shenzhen (SZSE 002594) |
Ownership tree
- BYD (group)
- BYD (brand) Held at 100%
- BYD Commercial Vehicles (brand) Held at 100%
- Denza (brand) Held at 100%
- Fangchengbao (brand) Held at 100%
- Yangwang (brand) Held at 100%
Who controls BYD?
Lü Xiangyang holds a stake in BYD since February 1995.
Wang Chuanfu's cousin, BYD's co-founder and early financial backer; he has held BYD shares through Guangzhou Rongjie Investment. The current percentage was not verified.
Former owners
Holdings that have ended. They are here because the story needs them and are never part of the current tree.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. formerly held BYD from September 2008 until 2025.
Berkshire Hathaway paid about US$230m in September 2008 for roughly 225 million BYD H shares at HK$8 each — close to 10% of the company — on Charlie Munger's recommendation. It began selling in 2022, fell below the 5% Hong Kong disclosure threshold in mid-2024, and the completed exit was reported on 21-23 September 2025, ending a 17-year holding whose value had risen more than twentyfold.
| Holder | What it is | Share | Since | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wang Chuanfu | holds a stake in | not published | February 1995 | Founder, chairman and president of BYD and its largest single shareholder. Secondary reporting of BYD's 2025 semi-annual report puts his direct holding at 16.90% as at 30 June 2025, with a larger figure once an asset-management plan is counted; neither number was checked against the filing, so no percentage is recorded here. |
Brands
| Brand | Held | Origin | Founded | Models | Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 比亚迪BYD | directly | China | 2003 | 16 | 26 |
| 腾势Denza | directly | China | 2012 | 2 | 4 |
| 仰望Yangwang | directly | China | 2023 | 2 | 1 |
| 方程豹Fangchengbao | directly | China | 2023 | 2 | 1 |
| 比亚迪商用车BYD Commercial Vehicles | directly | China | 2003 | 0 | 3 |
Joint ventures
| Venture | Partner | Since | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automotive Co., Ltd. | Mercedes-Benz Group AG | 27 May 2010 to 14 September 2024 | Founded as a 50/50 venture with Daimler. BYD went to 90% in 2022; the corporate register showed Mercedes-Benz off the shareholder list on 14 September 2024, leaving BYD with 100%. |
| BYD Toyota EV Technology Co., Ltd. | Toyota Motor Corporation | April 2020 | 50/50 research and development venture in Shenzhen for battery-electric cars; it produced the Toyota bZ3 sedan. Verify current status. |
BYD: questions people ask
- What does BYD stand for?
- Officially, 'Build Your Dreams' — but that phrase came second. The letters are the initials of the company's Chinese name 比亚迪 (Bǐyàdí), registered in Shenzhen in 1995, and the three characters carry no combined meaning. BYD began using the English slogan for overseas audiences around its 2008 Detroit auto show appearance.
- Who owns BYD?
- BYD is a listed public company with shares in Hong Kong (SEHK 1211) and Shenzhen (SZSE 002594). Founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu is the largest single shareholder; no government body controls it.
- Is BYD state-owned?
- No. BYD was founded as a private business in 1995 and is controlled by its founder and public shareholders, not by a state asset commission. That distinguishes it from groups such as FAW, Dongfeng, SAIC and Changan.
- Does Warren Buffett own BYD?
- Not any more. Berkshire Hathaway bought about 10% of BYD's Hong Kong-listed shares for roughly US$230m in 2008, began selling in 2022, dropped below the 5% Hong Kong disclosure threshold in mid-2024, and the completed exit was reported in September 2025.
- Can you buy a BYD car in the United States?
- No. BYD sells no passenger cars to American buyers and has said it has no plans to, citing trade barriers. Its US business builds electric buses and trucks at Lancaster, California, and trades as RIDE.
Related
Sources for BYD
- CnEVPost, BYD's 2025 net profit drops 19% as domestic price war bites. Read . Reporting of BYD's 2025 annual results, announced 27 March 2026
- CleanTechnica, BYD 2025 Annual Report In Context. Read . R&D spend, engineer headcount, patents and Fortune Global 500 placing
- Internet Info Agency, BYD Reports Slight Revenue Growth but Falling Profits in 2025, Cuts 100,000 Jobs and Accelerates Global Expansion. Read . Employee count and overseas revenue split; secondary reporting of the annual report, not checked against the report itself
- CnEVPost, BYD sold 440,293 NEVs in Aug, up 17.84% year-on-year. Read . August and year-to-date 2026 sales, domestic and overseas
- Wikipedia, BYD Company. Read . Founding date, founders, headquarters, listings, divisions and the Berkshire timeline
- Wikipedia, BYD Auto. Read . Qinchuan purchase, sub-brand launch dates and overseas plants
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, BYD | History, Electric Vehicles, Batteries, & SkyRail. Read . Early battery business and the 2003 move into cars
- Legal Planet (UC Berkeley / UCLA law schools), A Tour of BYD's Factory in Lancaster, California. Read . US bus and truck plant, union workforce, and the statement that BYD does not sell consumer vehicles in the United States