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BYD Losing its spark 比亚迪失去光彩

Can China’s EV champion stay ahead in an industry defined by software?

中国电动汽车领军企业能否在软件主导的行业中保持领先地位？

For years visitors to the Shenzhen headquarters of BYD, the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles (EVs), have been treated to an explosive safety demonstration. As they peer into a chamber made with thick protective glass, a drill bores into a conventional EV battery, which erupts into flames. Then one of BYD’s signature“blade” batteries is similarly pierced—without the subsequent blast.

多年来，参观比亚迪深圳总部（全球最大的电动汽车制造商）的访客都会观看一场惊心动魄的安全演示。他们透过厚厚的防护玻璃，透过一个密闭的舱室，看到一台钻头钻入一块传统的电动汽车电池，电池随即燃起熊熊烈火。随后，比亚迪标志性的“刀片式”电池也被以同样的方式刺穿——但却没有发生爆炸。

BYD was built around batteries. And its founder, Wang Chuanfu, created his car empire using the same rigid vertical integration that made them successful. That entails everything from running its own lithium-processing plants to training its own artificial-intelligence models. On May 28th Mr Wang unveiled a semiconductor, designed in-house,that he claimed was the world’s most powerful for self-driving.

比亚迪的立足点在于电池。其创始人王传福正是凭借着这种高度垂直整合的模式，打造了其汽车帝国，并取得了成功。这种模式涵盖了从运营自有锂加工厂到训练自有人工智能模型等方方面面。5月28日，王传福发布了一款自主研发的半导体芯片，并声称这是全球最强大的自动驾驶芯片。

With far fewer middlemen to deal with, BYD has managed to control costs even as they have surged for others, turning out ultra-cheap, high-quality models such as the Seagull, a compact EV that sells in China for around $10,000. Vertical integration is also credited with speeding up innovation, as engineers from different divisions collaborate on common problems. When supply bottlenecks have held rivals back, BYD has been able to step on the accelerator. It churns out new models faster than most, with several brands at different price points, some with captivating, quirky add-ons. Models from its luxury Yangwang brand can float in water or jump over pot holes. One from Denza, another upmarket marque, can “crabwalk” sideways into parking spots. (It uses the brand“BYD” for its mass-market range.)

由于中间环节少得多，比亚迪在其他厂商成本飙升的情况下，依然成功控制了成本，生产出像海鸥这样价格低廉、质量上乘的车型。海鸥是一款紧凑型电动汽车，在中国的售价约为1万美元。垂直整合也被认为加速了创新，因为不同部门的工程师可以合作解决共同的问题。当供应链瓶颈阻碍竞争对手发展时，比亚迪却能够加速前进。它以远超大多数厂商的速度推出新车型，旗下拥有多个不同价位的品牌，其中一些车型还配备了引人注目、别具一格的附加功能。其高端品牌扬望的车型可以水上漂浮或飞跃坑洼。另一个高端品牌腾势的车型则可以“螃蟹式”地横着驶入停车位。（腾势使用“比亚迪”品牌来管理其面向大众市场的车型。）

The company’s strategy has served it well. Revenue has increased ten-fold in the past decade, to $116bn last year. In 2025 it sold more cars than Elon Musk’s Tesla. Mr Wang is thought to be worth around $25bn. But the model is showing signs of weakness.Operating profit fell for the first time in four years in 2025. In April sales fell, year on year, for the eighth month running. In the first two months of 2026, Geely ended BYD’s run of more than three years as China’s leading EV-seller, though BYD has since reclaimed top spot.

比亚迪的战略取得了成功。过去十年，其营收增长了十倍，去年达到1160亿美元。 2025年，吉利汽车的销量超过了埃隆·马斯克的特斯拉。据估计，王传福的身价约为250亿美元。但这种模式正显露出疲软的迹象。2025年，吉利汽车的营业利润四年来首次出现下滑。4月份，其销量同比连续第八个月下降。2026年前两个月，吉利终结了比亚迪连续三年多保持的中国电动汽车销量冠军地位，不过比亚迪此后又重新夺回了榜首位置。

China’s EV industry as a whole has been battered by a ferocious price war that has crushed margins. Yet BYD is also starting to look out of place as the market focuses far more on software and entertainment. Young would-be customers often inspect the large entertainment display panels on the dashboard before anything else. Several challengers, such as Xpeng and Li Auto, were founded by internet bosses.

中国电动汽车行业整体上受到了激烈的价格战冲击，利润空间被压缩。然而，随着市场越来越关注软件和娱乐功能，比亚迪也开始显得格格不入。年轻的潜在消费者往往首先关注的是仪表盘上的大型娱乐显示屏。一些挑战者，例如小鹏汽车和理想汽车，都是由互联网企业家创立的。

Other carmakers have been forging partnerships with tech firms. Volkswagen has bought system know-how from Xpeng. A division of Huawei, a Chinese tech giant, is selling software and entertainment systems to no fewer than five carmakers.It has helped JAC, a stodgy state-owned firm, launch a luxury EV brand called Maextro that sells for more than $100,000. Geely has been inking deals left and right, for instance with StepFun, an AI startup, for autonomous driving and with iFlytek, another AI business, for voice recognition. In September it launched a computing platform for AI models with Thundersoft, a Chinese software developer.

其他汽车制造商也一直在与科技公司建立合作关系。大众汽车从小鹏汽车购买了系统技术。华为这家中国科技巨头的子公司正在向至少五家汽车制造商销售软件和娱乐系统。它帮助老牌国有企业江淮汽车推出了一款名为尊界的豪华电动汽车品牌，售价超过10万美元。吉利汽车也一直在积极拓展业务，例如与人工智能初创公司阶跃星辰合作开发自动驾驶技术，以及与另一家人工智能企业科大讯飞合作开发语音识别技术。今年9月，吉利还与中国软件开发商中科创达合作推出了一个用于人工智能模型的计算平台。

By contrast, BYD is keeping things in house. Max Zhang, a member of the team developing its autonomous driving system, points out that other carmakers are at the whim of their third-party suppliers for upgrades. Keeping that control is still themost important thing for BYD, he says.

相比之下，比亚迪则坚持自主研发。比亚迪自动驾驶系统开发团队成员张先生指出，其他汽车制造商在系统升级方面受制于第三方供应商。他表示，对比亚迪而言，保持这种控制权仍然是最重要的。

But autonomous driving is one area where the risks of BYD’s vertical integration have become clear. Missteps are more difficult to correct. BYD has been quick to deploy its system in several models, including cheaper ones, even before the technology was mature. This has drawn rare direct criticism from competitors. Yu Chengdong, a Huawei executive, has said that “so-called ‘good enough’ and ‘safe’ intelligent driving are two completely different levels.” Such remarks may explain why Mr Wang said on May 28th that BYD would be the world’s first company to cover losses from autonomous-driving accidents. Visitors to its headquarters this year are treated to a new demonstration: a sporty model spins donuts in the carpark while the driver takes his hands off the wheel.

但自动驾驶领域也暴露出比亚迪垂直整合的风险。一旦出现失误，就很难纠正。比亚迪在自动驾驶技术尚未成熟时，就迅速将其系统应用于多款车型，包括一些价格较低的车型。这招致了竞争对手罕见的直接批评。华为高管余承东曾表示，“所谓的‘足够好’和‘安全’的智能驾驶是两个完全不同的层次。” 这番言论或许可以解释为何王先生在5月28日宣布比亚迪将成为全球首家为自动驾驶事故承担损失的公司。今年，比亚迪总部为参观者带来了一项新的演示：一辆运动型车型在停车场内原地打转，而驾驶员则双手离开方向盘。

BYD still hopes its batteries will set it apart. Its latest charging technology gets its EVs near to capacity in around ten minutes. An installation at its headquarters freezes an EV at -30°C to show off its resilience. Although competitors such as CATL, the world’s biggest battery-maker, are re producing many of its achievements, BYD believes it can stay one step ahead. Even so, it is getting ever harder to maintain an advantage from batteries alone.

比亚迪仍然希望其电池技术能够使其脱颖而出。其最新的充电技术可在十分钟左右将电动汽车充满电。比亚迪总部还设置了一个装置，将一辆电动汽车冷冻至零下30摄氏度，以展示其电池的耐久性。尽管像全球最大的电池制造商宁德时代这样的竞争对手正在复制比亚迪的许多成果，但比亚迪相信自己能够保持领先地位。即便如此，单靠电池也越来越难以保持优势。