When it comes to modern success stories, BYD should always be considered in the conversation. In the past 2-3 years, the brand has steadily grown and somewhat dominated the local car scene by offering quality products with new energy solutions at very attainable prices.
Another reason for their success can be attributed to the rapid pace of their product launches. BYD is the only brand I’ve seen (apart from the #1) who launch multiple models in rapid succession. It’s gotten to a point where I wouldn’t need to convince someone to get a BYD, it just so happens to be already top-of-mind for prospective buyers.
To further show their commitment to the PH market, and to give more insight into what makes the brand, BYD and ACMobility hosted me and a few others on a trip to their stomping grounds in Shenzhen and Zhengzhou, Chin,a for what I’d consider a “Hearts and Minds” trip.
BYD Homebase
2025 is a strong year, in particular, for the BYD brand in the Philippines, as most of the cars that they’ve launched are already commonplace on our roads. With a seemingly strong 2025, a trip to their home turf seemed like more of a celebration of the success they’re enjoying, to give the media an idea of why their brand ‘works’.
Our first stop was the company HQ in Shenzhen, and I could tell immediately this trip was going to be different compared to the other brand trips to China trhat I’ve been on. It was as if BYD didn’t feel the need to brag or ‘put on a show’ for us media, there was a sense of humility in the way they prepared for the PH media contigent. We were shown a few of their exceptional products on display, and there was even a customized welcome banner for us, but there was no ‘fanfare’ which shows that they are confident in what they offer, no need for fluff.
The first agenda was a sitdown conference style Q and A with BYD Asia Pacific Auto Division General Manager Mr. Liu Xiuelang, wherein he had a lengthy but well thought out statement about the vitalility of the PH market. Mr. Liu further stated that there will be no stopping the continued launching of new models for the Philippines, according to thim this is due to their belief that our local market continues to know what they want and that BYD has the products to offer all Filipinos a chance a New Energy Mobility. In line with this, they will continue to offer more experiential test drives for Filipinos, to let them experience the ease of BYD’s flagship technologies like DM-i, DM-o.
Asia Pacific is also a region ripe for investment said Mr. Liu, as such along with the already established plants in Indonesia and Thailand, the brand plans to open new production factories in Cambodia and Malaysia; there are also no plans yet to bring in models from these factories to the Philippines. What is interesting is the brands plan to eventually offer their commercial vehicles in the Philippines.
After the session with Mr. Liu, the conference continued with a presentation about the automakers various technological advancements and proprietary programs. This session went on like most other brand presentations, but in BYD’s case what amazed me is the brands approach is both pragmatic and aggressive. While they spend Billions on R&D most of the technologies they choose to invest in are of a truly practical nature, everything is geared towards the betterment of the products, no ‘side quests’ like robot dogs or flying cars for showcase sake. It was apparent that they are focused on the immediate future and the present, which is I guess a reason why they succeed.
To cap of our day in HQ we were given a quick tour of the brand showcase housed in the back of the main building, here we saw on full display a condesed but information heavy version of what BYD is. One of the amazing displays is a battery penetration test of the Blade Battery technology and a normal battery, also equally amazing to me is the wall of patents, which showed how many patents BYD has, with a totality of 30,000 plus, goes to show how dedicated they are to improvement.
Zhengzhou Experience
The next day we flew out from Shenzhen to the city of Zhengzhou, where we would be taking the trip from classroom type sessions, to practical real world experiences. Zhengzhou is regarded as a vital City, it is considered the “smartphone capital” of China where most brands (including Apple) are made there. Zhengzhou is also about the past though, and is rich in history, this city has one of the oldest preserved forms of the formative dynasties of China.
In BYD’s case though, there are 2 facilities that showcase the brand, in the city is the D-Space Museum, the first of its kind. We got another in depth look on the story of BYD and the various elements that go into how the brand treats its products and how the story of the brand began. It was a very interactive experience, and is actually something worth while for people curious about not just BYD but the modern process’ of a global automotive brand.
Outside the main city of Zhengzhou houses the brands newest facility, a complete test track and facility. In this facility, the brand showcases in reality their core strengths, there is an Offroad experience, a complete test track, and a huge open space for other vehicle tests and activities. This facility was just recently opened and is the first in a series headed for other cities in Mainland China, on a nationalistic note, the Philippine media group was the first from the region to visit and experience this facility.
After a mandatory safety briefing and a segregation of delegates, we were first brought to the inclined offroad area. Here we witnessed the Yangwang U8 easily climb up and descend an inclined sandy hill complete with select media people inside, again the brand walked the talk and the U8 performed without a hitch. Next up was the famed viral sensation of the Emergency Float Mode, where the Yangwang U8 can float through high levels of water, this can be done at a slow and steady pace should a flash flood occur, it is absolutely mind boggling how a massive EV SUV, can easily traverse through water (again this was done without any issue).
After the Yangwang U8 flexed, it was time to experience the Yangwang U9, the brands idea of a hypercar complete with 1,200+ HP. During this activity we the media were lucky to be passengers during 3 hot laps of the facilities full test track. I must admit, being a race car driver I had a sense of ease with being able to deal with G-forces, but nothing prepares your for the savagery of the U9’s torque and speed. The moment we pulled out of the pitlane, the driver floored it, and I felt all my blood rush to the back of my head, I had a hard time filming the whole experience due to the acceleration. Equally as amazing though is that the driver barely had any issues controlling the U9 at that speed and through the corners, I could tell that the U9 isn’t just a straightline smasher, but there is also thought behind the handling characteristics.
Our day carried on with other various activities like an off-road track, and a showcase where we were driven through a skid-pad with and without traction control. These activities were done with the utmost expertise of the instructors, but credit should also be given to the vehicles and how easily they performed in various driving conditions, it amazed me how each activity was done without any issue or special arrangements, not once did anything go wrong.
The final 2 activities for our group was the low-friction pad, where we were tasked to be able to do complete drifts around a circle in a sleek looking Denza wagon. Now I don’t know how to drift, but this vehicle had a drift mode and that in itself was more than enought to make me feel like Ken Block, all I did was adjust throttle and steering input and the vehicle did the rest, keeping me in a perfect state of ‘drifitng’. Lastly, the Gymkhana activity gave us a chance to try out the Seal EV and the Tang DM-i on a made up slalom track, both vehicles varying in degrees but both performing very well when driven hard in a closed circuit, a true acheivement in my opinion.
The Recipe For Global Success
My goal for this trip was to try to understand what makes BYD the behemoth that it is, I wanted to get a peek behind the curtain and see how the brand makes its cars and I got what I came for.
I’ve written extensively on this page how each model they’ve launched in the Philippine so far has become a success, and that’s mainly down to how BYD approaches their products. I got a sense that they prioritize market conditions and how the buyers think, that in itself gives them a leg up on the competition, other Chinese marks tend to just shove random vehicles for sale to the market without any true sense, BYD listens and takes stock of what works.
I also appreciated the brands attitude during the whole trip, there was no hard selling or overtly pandering showcases. Everything was “let the products speak for themselves” and that strategy worked on me, every single time we got into a BYD product the build quality seemed exceptional, and the performance of the vehicles themselves were above expectations.
I would say that BYD’s no nonsense approach to how they make cars is what makes them successful, they focus on what the market wants and needs, while keeping a keen eye on possible changes for the future. To be able to keep in tune with the times without losing touch on whats next is no easy feat, but BYD does it with relative ease. BYD is a brand without fluff, it’s the modern interpretation of mobility done right for all walks of life.
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