BYD stands for 'Build Your Dreams' and was founded in 1995 by entrepreneur Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen, a Chinese city near Hong Kong. BYD notably counts American billionaire Warren Buffett as one of its major investors and entered Australia via a distributor partner in 2022.
BYD was founded as a maker of rechargeable batteries and grew rapidly by becoming a major supplier of batteries to various mobile phone manufacturers. Chuanfu wished to enter a new market for his batteries and, sensing the possibility of vehicles eventually being powered with electricity, bought struggling Chinese carmaker Qinchuan Auto, later renamed BYD Automobile, as a way to enter the automotive industry and scale up mass production of cars. BYD pivoted to EVs with the launch of the BYD E6 electric people-mover in 2010.
Today, BYD is one of the world's largest electrified vehicle manufacturers. In addition to passenger cars, the company also produces a range of commercial vehicles, such as EV buses, forklifts and trucks.
BYD Australia's current passenger-vehicle lineup includes the ATTO 1, ATTO 2, ATTO 3, Dolphin, Seal, Seal 6, Seal 6 Touring, Sealion 5, Sealion 6, Sealion 7, Sealion 8 and Shark 6.
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