The Future (of Cars)

Yesterday, I pushed a button and a minute later a BYD arrived.

It's the future of cars. Here's why:

Like their smartphones and other electronics products, Chinese cars have got good.

Like really really good.

And they're also spearheading a change in how companies are built and go to market.

This car felt like a Mercedez Benz, and in many ways, better.

The ride was smooth, the interior luxe, and featured an array of touch screens.

Traditional auto brands e.g. from Germany and Japan, have long relied on brand marketing.

When you see that Benz or Toyota logo, quality is assumed automatically.

But, Chinese brands like BYD have little to no history as consumer brands.

“Build Your Dreams,” as it's also known, was founded by Wang Chuanfu, a 58-year-old battery scientist.

They started as factories for other brands and slowly built a consumer business.

They did it by innovating on product, something incumbents can't do with ease due to their legacy business.

BYD has gone from being an unknown in China’s crowded car market to becoming one of the top 10 automakers in the world.

They have relentlessly focused on product innovation via their vertical integration model, and you see that in the cat itself.

Your BMW probably has thousands of suppliers. Like Apple and Tesla, BYD builds most of the car 'in-house'.

BYD also tries new things like self-driving parallel parking and LED ambient lighting.

It was even reported that BYD worked with Apple on their top-secret electric car project until Apple canceled it.

In Elon Musk's words, Chinese auto brands will “demolish” their (US/EU) domestic automakers.

Try getting into a BYD in China or elsewhere in Asia as they rapidly expand.

PS - For more on BYD, check out this great Bloomberg Businessweek piece here:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-10-16/electric-car-brand-byd-leads-race-to-make-cheap-evs-despite-tariffs