BYD is No. 5 on the list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025. Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture.
Back in 2011, when he’d barely cracked his first billion bucks, Elon Musk appeared on TV and laughed at the mention of Chinese EV maker BYD. “Have you seen their car?” he asked Bloomberg anchor Betty Liu. Today, BYD is running neck and neck with Tesla for the top spot among global EV makers and is the undisputed champion of the plug-in hybrid sector, with 40% of that market.
The company got its start making nickel and lithium-ion batteries for electronic products and now makes cars for every kind of buyer. In November 2023, BYD introduced the first of the company’s premium Yangwang line: the amphibious U8 SUV, which comes with a plug-in hybrid power train and separate electric motors for each wheel to improve maneuverability. The U8, which costs around $150,000, is designed to float for up to 30 minutes, with wheels that transform into propellers. (Musk, meanwhile, hasn’t yet created the promised “mod package” that would allow the Cybertruck to double as a boat.) BYD released its first electric supercar last year—the $233,000 U9, which features butterfly doors and a top speed of 243 mph.
The automaker has solidified itself as the leading Chinese manufacturer of affordable EVs, thanks to its Seagull that costs less than $10,000 and has an all-electric range of up to 252 miles. Now the company is gearing up to make all of its models self-driving—including the cheapest ones—using its “God’s Eye” driving system.
BYD delivered 3.83 million passenger vehicles in 2024 and rapidly expanded across Asia and into Mexico, South America, Europe, and Australia. Whether it comes to the U.S. is a question of geopolitics, but at least one top analyst says it’s inevitable, tariffs or no. “It’s only a matter of time before BYD is selling retail passenger vehicles in the U.S. market,” says Ed Kim, chief analyst at AutoPacific. “American consumers want them.”
Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.
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