When people talk about electric cars, most think of Tesla, Ford, or Rimac.

But there’s a car company that many haven’t heard ofBYD.

So, what exactly is BYD, and will we find its cars on our roads soon?

BYD Han EV

Image Credit: Mariordo/Wikimedia Commons

However, BYD is the first car company to create a plug-in hybrid.

It launched the F3DM (Dual-Mode) in December 2008, based on the compact BYD F3 sedan.

And once the battery hits 20% or lower, its one-liter three-cylinder engine takes over to recharge it.

BYD F3DM

Image Credit: Mariordo/Wikimedia Commons

The car has a theoretical 100-kilometer all-electric range and a maximum of 480 kilometers in hybrid mode.

Depending on their preference, drivers can switch between all-electric and plug-in hybrid modes.

The greater the number of cars sold, the more successful a company is seen.

BYD Han Electric Vehicle on display at trade show

Image Credit: Jengtingchen/Wikimedia Commons

According toStatista, Tesla sold 564,750 vehicles in the first and second quarters of 2022.

But in the same period, BYD sold about 641,000, as reported bySCMP.

That means it sold 13% more vehicles than Tesla in just the first half of 2022.

BYD School Bus

Image Credit:BYD North America

In fact, several elementary school districts in California are acquiring fully-electric school buses to serve their students.

The company boasts a 550,000-square-foot facility operated by its 750 unionized workers.

This manufacturing center opened in 2013 and has since expanded to increase its production capacity.

parking slot for EVs only

According toelectrive.com, the TTC ordered 20 electric buses from BYD for evaluation.

After comparing it with other competitors, it plans to order another 300 electric buses for its fleet.

BYD No Longer Sells Conventional Powered Cars

Many manufacturers plan to eliminate their all-internal-combustion models by some future date.

warren buffett caricature

Image Credit: DonkeyHotey/Flickr

However, BYD beat them all to the punch.

This means that BYD has enough confidence in its ability to sell hybrid and all-electric vehicles.

During this time, Musk was building the first Tesla Roadster and running into trouble.

That’s why Buffett and his partner, Charlie Munger, chose to invest in BYD.

Will BYD Offer Serious Competition to Tesla?

However, it’s making waves in its home market of China.