On October 28, the 33rd Annual Meeting of the China Society of Automotive Engineers was held in Suzhou. At the conference, the 2026 Rao Bin Award for the Automotive Industry, part of the China Society of Automotive Engineers Science and Technology Awards, was announced, and Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594), received the honor.
"I want to solve a proof problem 鈥?Chinese new energy can do it, and Chinese automobiles can do it," Wang Chuanfu said in his acceptance speech, adding that this depends on daring to fight and daring to strive, a philosophy passed down to this generation of auto industry participants by Rao Bin and other veterans. This generation bears a historic mission and must constantly encourage itself to keep working hard to achieve the leap from a major automobile country to an automobile power.
Looking back on the entrepreneurial journey, Wang Chuanfu recalled that BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594) switched from being an outsider to making cars, encountered countless difficulties along the way, and once faced a dangerous moment when its capital chain broke, but as long as the ideal was right and the direction was right, it had to persist. Public information shows that in February 1995, he led a team of more than 20 people starting from an old workshop in Liantang, Shenzhen, beginning with nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries. In January 2003, he overcame objections and acquired 77% of Xi'an Qinchuan Automobile for about 270 million yuan, formally entering the automobile industry.
Wang Chuanfu has always adhered to the principle of technology as king and innovation as the foundation, leading BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594) along a development path driven by technological innovation that transforms the industry. BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594) has built a core technology system across the entire industry chain covering batteries, motors, electronic controls, and automotive-grade semiconductors, and has successively launched landmark technological achievements such as Blade Battery, e-Platform, and DM hybrid systems.
In the course of development, BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594) created many industry milestones. In 2022, BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594) became the world's first automaker to officially stop production of fuel vehicles, marking a symbolic moment in the electrification transformation of China's and even the global automobile industry. In 2025, BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594) sold about 4.6 million new energy vehicles for the full year, ranking first in global new energy vehicle sales for four consecutive years and for the first time entering the top five global automotive groups by sales. In the same year, BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594)鈥檚 pure electric vehicle sales surpassed Tesla for the first time, making it the global champion in pure electric vehicle sales. In March this year, the second-generation Blade Battery and flash charging technology released by BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594) once set the world record for the fastest charging in mass production. Around Yangwang, Denza, Fangchengbao, and others, a high-end brand matrix gradually took shape, and BYD Company Limited (ASX: 002594) continued to advance toward brand upgrading while leading in scale.
The Rao Bin Award for the Automotive Industry is named after Rao Bin, the "father of Chinese automobiles," and aims to honor entrepreneurs who have made outstanding contributions to the development of China's automobile industry. Wang Chuanfu鈥檚 award this time marks that leading entrepreneurs in China's new energy vehicle sector have entered this hall of industry honor. From Rao Bin and other veterans starting from scratch to solve the question of whether the industry could exist, to a new generation of entrepreneurs leading global automotive industry transformation with new energy and intelligent technologies, the transformation and achievements of China's automobile industry cannot be separated from the relay and struggle of generation after generation of entrepreneurs and researchers. At a time when the global automotive industry landscape is being restructured, China's speed is writing a development miracle. Standing at a brand-new industrial starting point, China's automobile industry is bringing more exciting performances in the global market and contributing more Chinese solutions and Chinese strength to the global automotive industry's wave of green and intelligent transformation.
Comments