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Vishu Bheda
ย โขย
Medialย โขย 2d
๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ป'๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐น๐ฎ - ๐ถ๐'๐ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ: โข Sold 4 Million EVs in 2024 (Twice that of Tesla) โข Tesla, Ford, and Toyota fight over its batteries โข Warren Buffett invested $232M for a 10% stake How China quietly built BYD into the world's biggest EV empire: ๐๐น๐ผ๐ป ๐ ๐๐๐ธ ๐ข๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ด๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐โ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐น๐ฎ In 2008, Elon Musk laughed at the idea of BYD competing with Tesla. Now, Tesla is slashing prices because BYD is forcing their hand. The man behind this? A chemist you've probably never heard ofโWang Chuanfu. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ $๐ฎ๐ต ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด In 1995, Wang Chuanfu started BYD as a battery company for Nokia phones. By 2003, with zero car experience, he bought a failing automaker. People laughedโuntil Warren Buffett bet $232M on him. Meanwhile, China had a problem. The country was set to become the worldโs largest oil importer. The government saw an opening: skip gas cars entirely and dominate EVs instead. Between 2009-2022, China poured $29 billion into EV development. But money wasnโt enoughโthey needed control. ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ง๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฉ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ Batteries make up 40% of an EVโs cost, so China took control of the supply chain: 100% of the worldโs graphite refining 75% of cobalt refining 60% of lithium refining Even if other countries mine the materials, China refines them. They also gave BYD a massive head startโShenzhen converted 16,000 buses to BYD electric models overnight. Then came the Blade Battery. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐น๐ฎ In 2020, BYDโs Blade Battery passed the "nail penetration test." Other EV batteries exploded. BYDโs? Nothing happened. It was cheaper, safer, and faster-charging than anything else. Even Tesla had to buy it. ๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐. ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐น๐ฎ: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ BYD doesnโt just make cars. They: โข Mine their own lithium โข Refine their own materials โข Make their own chips โข Build their own batteries The result? A $11,500 EV vs. Teslaโs cheapest car at 4x the price. Now, in 2024, BYD overtook Volkswagen as Chinaโs #1 car brand. Tesla chased margins. BYD played the volume gameโand won. Follow Vishu Bheda for more valuable startup and business insights.
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