First woman to take title

Stella Li, executive vice-president of BYD, has been voted 2025 World Car Person of the Year in recognition of progress made by the company in new-energy vehicles last year.

The awards committee curates a shortlist of candidates before the jurors – 96 automotive journalists from 30 countries – cast their votes. Previous winners include Formula One design legend Adrian Newey and Toyota boss Akio Toyoda.

Li’s award – the first time a woman has taken out the honour and the first world car award of any kind has been won by a Chinese manufacturer – comes after 12 successful months for BYD. 

“This award is the result of the 110,000 R&D engineers at BYD,” she says. “They continue to provide us with the latest technological advances that are reflected in our EV and super-hybrid DM-i technology. 

“I’m glad to play my part in putting these sustainable technologies in the hands of as many consumers as possible.”

As well as sales success in China, BYD’s vehicles gained significant market share in new markets such as Brazil and Mexico, and expanded across key regions like Europe to help it achieve several production milestones. 

In November 2024, BYD produced its 10 millionth new-energy vehicle. It now employs more than 900,000 people worldwide, including more than 110,000 staff in its research and development division.

This investment in R&D has allowed BYD to introduce global breakthroughs such as the world’s fastest electric motor in mass production at 23,000rpm as featured in the recently launched Sealion 7, and super-hybrid dual mode-intelligent models.

Beyond its car business, the company implements a strategy that also covers clean-energy capture and energy storage.