In the 19th century, the world-dominant British Empire had Germans put the word ‘Made in’ on their products to protect themselves from cheap and low-quality products. In a sense, the word ‘Made in Germany’ belittled Germany, but it actually cost London more. After two centuries, Germany became the ‘engineering’ center of the world. England, on the other hand, resisted selling its brands to Russian, Indian or Chinese investors. The words of the Chinese sage Confucius, “No matter how slowly you progress, as long as you don’t give up, you’re still winning”, actually summarize a 200-year-old response Germany gave to England. As the world changes rapidly, it also reacts rapidly. There is no need to wait centuries for disdain or responses. In a few years, you can watch in slow motion how brands you didn’t see as competitors, made fun of, or even laughed at, teach you a lesson, or even ‘overtake’ you.

While we are on the subject of Chinese Confucius, the story of his fellow countryman, Chinese BYD, was also a response to arrogance and ego. When Tesla boss Elon Musk was asked about Chinese BYD during a program on the world-famous news channel Bloomberg TV in 2021, his response was a big laugh and "Have you seen their cars? They are very funny. I don't even see them as competitors." This was a serious mockery. After 12 years, Musk was trying to prevent the incredible success of BYD, which he made fun of, with the words "If precautions are not taken, Chinese electric car manufacturers will destroy us all." So, how was Chinese BYD born? How did it leave an American giant behind in a few years? In short, what BYD caused was a loss ending in victory. Let's return to this short but powerful story if you wish. Born on April 8, 1966 in a poor farmhouse with eight siblings in Anhui, located in the eastern part of China, Wang Chuanfu lost his father and then his mother shortly thereafter. Orphaned at a young age, Wang Chuanfu wanted to support his siblings by getting a job, but he finished university under very difficult conditions due to his brother's pressure. Focusing his dream on communication technology, Chuanfu's grades were only enough for chemical engineering. This loss was actually the biggest gain of his life. Completing his education at Central South University and then receiving his master's degree from the Beijing Non-Ferrous Metal General Research Institute (now GRINM Group), Chuanfu first encountered batteries here.

During the opening period initiated by Chinese President Deng Xiaoping at that time, Chuanfu took over the management of BAK Battery Co., a company in Shenzhen that was selected as a special economic zone. Shortly afterwards, disagreements between the partners led to the end of BAK Battery and it went bankrupt. Wang Chuanfu was closely following the opportunities in mobile phones at the time. He quickly saw the change and decided to establish his own company with a 250 thousand Yuan (30 thousand dollars today) loan from his rich cousin. First, he needed a name for his company. He named it ‘Yadi Electronics’ using the place where it was founded; Yadi Road. After a while, he decided that the priority would be effective by thinking about search engines and fairs. He got stuck on the letter B alphabetically and changed the name of the company to ‘Biyadi’. Biyadi had no meaning. Later, he developed it as BYD and identified it with “Build Your Dreams”. In other words, “Build Your Dreams.”

Chuanfu’s dreamlike journey started at this time. Focusing on being a powerhouse in lithium-ion batteries, Chuanfu became a supplier for mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung. Its rapidly increasing success quickly made BYD one of the three biggest players in China in this field. This time, its target was Apple. BYD, which managed to produce batteries for the iPad, signed an initial public offering and became the second largest battery manufacturer in the world. Low profits in mobile phones led Wang Chuanfu to turn to the automotive industry. Rather than build a new factory, he chose to buy an existing one. In January 2003, he bought a small automotive manufacturing company, Xi'an Qinchuan Automobile, from the state-owned defense company Norinco. He completed his first vehicle in these facilities in 2005. The first vehicles were gasoline-powered, low-cost economy cars. The aim was to create a market. In 2008, he entered the electric business with the hybrid vehicle BYD F3 MY and then with the battery-powered vehicle. However, the market did not seem to be growing at that time. At that time, a friend came to the rescue of Chuanfu, who was crazy about batteries.

Li Lu, whose family was taken to forced labor camps during Mao's Cultural Revolution and who was the leader of student protests in the Tiananmen Square incidents in 1989; was an important fund manager in the 2000s, who later fled to the US. Li Lu introduced him to Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, one of the world's most important investors, Warren Buffett. The giant US fund became a partner in BYD's 9.9 percent share and became a significant investor with $230 million. Buffett's charm was established. It was the breaking point for the Chinese brand. BYD, which was reached by Buffett, the first global player to discover BYD's future, achieved a quiet but calm growth with a production of several hundred thousand vehicles before 2020. However, it experienced the real explosion in 2023 and dethroned Tesla with more than 3 million electric vehicles sold.

The story of BYD, which started with 20 people and a few thousand dollars about 30 years ago, has now turned into a multi-billion dollar empire. With a workforce of 960 thousand, BYD, which has left behind not only giant brands but also many countries, crushed Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, who underestimated it, by producing 4.3 million vehicles last year. BYD continues to grow with a turnover of 108 billion dollars. Elon Musk is following the epic rise of Chuanfu, who had to choose Chemical Engineering as a university because he could not get into the Department of Communication Technologies. Chuanfu, on the other hand, is busy with the ‘Build Your Dreams’ that he has attributed to BYD. The most interesting part is that Chuanfu and Li Lu, who provided him with Buffett’s touch, were born in the same week. BYD Founder Wang Chuanfu turned 59 on April 8, while his friend Li Lu, who took him on this global journey, turned 59 on April 6.

China, the rising star of Asia, prefers the growth called the Turtle Strategy. It has not compromised on the education system, public employee strategy, production power and most importantly, education logic that it laid the foundations for thousands of years ago. This is what Alain Peyrefitte, the former Minister of Education of France, who compiled the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, “Let China sleep, when China wakes, the earth will shake”, three centuries ago, wanted to say. It is not for nothing that Confucius said, “No matter how slowly you progress, as long as you do not give up, you are still winning.”