Silicon ambition
BYD puts technology at the center of its vision for mobility
THE Yangwang U9, promoted as the world’s fastest production EV, on display in Zhengzhou and later experienced on the race track.
DAILY TRIBUNE discovers how BYD is positioning itself as a technology leader, not just an automaker.
When car companies invite the media to test drives, the usual story is about horsepower or maybe how fast the new model can go from zero to a hundred. That was certainly part of the BYD 2025 Philippines Media Trip in Zhengzhou, China. We saw the Yangwang U9, billed as the world’s fastest production EV, and the Yangwang U8, an SUV that can wade through water and climb sand dunes. The rides were impressive, but what stood out more was what powered them behind the scenes.
BYD is quietly building itself into a technology company with semiconductors at its core.
INSIDE the Yangwang U9, where advanced control systems meet supercar performance.
During a session with executives, Javy Wang, BYD Asia Pacific senior product manager, presented BYD’s new technologies. I asked him, as a representative of DAILY TRIBUNE and drawing from my own background in semiconductors and renewable energy after years with NEC/IBM, Texas Instruments, Philips, and SunPower, how deep BYD’s semiconductor involvement really was. I wanted to know if it covered the entire chain, from silicon ingots to wafer fabrication, design, assembly and testing.
A DISPLAY model highlights BYD’s focus on technology beneath the surface of its vehicles.
Photographs by Enrique Garcia for Daily Tribune
He explained that BYD has been in semiconductors since 2011. The company is involved in the processes except for wafer fabrication. It was a straightforward reply, but it said a lot about BYD’s strategy. The company is not merely assembling cars. It is embedding technology into its foundation.
BYD has built one of the largest patent portfolios among global carmakers, with tens of thousands of applications and approvals across different fields. Its engineers file new patents every day, which underscores the brand’s aggressive push in research and development.
