Wang Chuanfu

Wang Chuanfu grew up in rural Anhui province and was orphaned as a teenager, relying on older siblings to fund his education. He studied chemistry at Central South University and earned a master degree from the Beijing Non-Ferrous Research Institute, where he later worked as a researcher and deputy director. His materials science expertise gave him deep knowledge of battery chemistry at a time when global demand for rechargeable batteries was surging with the rise of mobile phones.

Wang Chuanfu founded BYD in 1995 in Shenzhen with 20 employees and 2.5 million yuan borrowed from cousins. BYD stands for Build Your Dreams. He initially targeted rechargeable nickel-cadmium and lithium-ion batteries for Nokia, Motorola, and other handset makers, undercutting Japanese suppliers through lower-cost manufacturing. In 2003 he acquired Qinchuan Automobile for roughly 270 million yuan, extending BYD into electric vehicles over investor objections. His vertically integrated strategy — producing batteries, semiconductors, and vehicles internally — made BYD the world largest EV manufacturer by volume within two decades of founding.