---- Besucher Blick auf einen BYD Qin Plug-in Hybrid Auto auf dem Display während ein Auto Show in Conghua City, der ostchinesischen Provinz Jiangxi, 13 September 201
--FILE--Visitors look at a BYD Qin plug-in hybrid car on display during an auto show in Jiujiang city, east China's Jiangxi province, 13 September 2015. In contrast to the usual pattern of technological advance, Chinese car firm BYD, for Build Your Dreams, has led the way in electric vehicles but now faces increasing competition from Western manufacturers. BYD has nothing like the global profile of Tesla but sold its first hybrid in 2008, long before the US firm went into production. The same year, US billionaire Warren Buffett acquired a 10 per cent stake in the company. Deliveries of its first all-electric car, the e6, began in 2011, a year ahead of the first sales of Tesla's Model S. In 2015, BYD sold around 58, 000 electric and hybrid vehicles, doubling year-on-year, according to its annual report, which did not differentiate between the categories. It hopes to sell three times as many in 2016. In comparison, all-electric Tesla sold 50, 580 cars globally in 2015. BYD, which has its origins as a battery manufacturer, is looking to diversify its offerings across price ranges, partnering with German automaker Daimler to create Denza, a high-end brand that seeks to compete for Tesla's well-heeled clientele. At the other end of the range, it was the first company in the world to create mass-produced, fully electric buses, and has sold them to the US, Britain, India and Brazil, among others.
