BYD was founded in 1995 as an advanced battery manufacturer and consumer electronics company. BYD continues as a leading manufacturer of smart phones, tablets, and laptops for global partners such as Apple, Dell, Toshiba, Microsoft, Samsung, Motorola, and many more.

BYD has become one of the world's largest producers of safe and reliable rechargeable batteries, driving innovation by reinvesting billions of U.S. dollars into research and development. BYD has over 25 years of experience designing and buliding advanced battery systems, dedicating more than 20,000 engineers to R&D and securing over 15,000 patents.

In 2003, BYD entered the automotive market and began to apply its battery expertise to the transportation industry. BYD's unique combination of battery and automotive experience is now revolutionizing every aspect of clean transportation, with a vertically integrated zero-emission product line including solar power generation, energy storage and transportation applications such as car, buses, forklifts, and trucks.

Acting on the advice of longtime lieutenant Charlie Munger, MidAmerican Energy, a unit of investment guru Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway purchases a 10 percent stake in BYD for $230 million. Investors see the move as a solid endorsement for the rapidly expanding firm.

BYD has delivered more electric vehicles than any other company in the world, including cars, buses, trucks and forklifts. Within the mercial Vehicle Group, BYD has delivered over 50,000 Electric Buses, and more than 12,000 Electric Trucks globally.

In each of BYD's 33 global locations, BYD promotes local economic development by creating good jobs, training its work force, and ensuring that local communities have access to affordable clean energy. In 2017, BYD more than doubled the size of its Lancaster, CA factory to ~550,000 square feet (sf), with more than 750 union employees. In 2020, BYD will add a 2 MW solar field with 2 MWh of storage to its Lancaster plant, making it a zero-emission Center of Excellence.

2020 BYD's North America expansion continued with the opening of service hubs in Lodi, New Jersey; Indianapolis, Indiana; San Carlos, California and Honolulu, Hawaii.

In June of 2020, BYD opened a 50,000 square foot facility in Rancho Dominguez, California. BYD’s newest California facility is dedicated to BYD forklifts, offering warehouse space for products and parts, modern offices, and facilities for demos and training.

During the pandemic, BYD Electronics shifted its manufacturing operating and produced millions of PPE products that were shipped around the world. In the United States more than $1 million of PPE was donated to first responders and others who had an immediate need.