almost a million employees for a colossal project

BYD surpassed 968,900 employees by the end of 2024, more than Tesla, Toyota, Ford, BMW and Renault combined. It is a figure that would be absurd for any traditional automaker, but it has a simple explanation: BYD is not just an automaker.

Methodological note: This figure includes the entire BYD Group, not just BYD Auto. Unlike manufacturers that clearly separate their divisions, BYD operates as an integrated ecosystem where the majority of employees are directly or indirectly linked to the automotive business. The company does not publish a breakdown by division.

Why is it important. The Chinese company has built the largest vertical integration ecosystem in the automotive industry worldwide. Tesla, for example, buys batteries from Panasonic and chips from third parties, but BYD manufactures absolutely everything in-house.

Its business model covers four complete industrial sectors:

• The automobile division is only the most visible, but also manufactures electronics for Apple.
• And it produces batteries as the second largest manufacturer in the world.
• It also develops components from semiconductors to heat pumps.
• More than 110,000 of its employees work exclusively for Apple’s supply chain, assembling 30% of its iPhones and iPads.

The BYD figure, as we said at the beginning, is for the entire BYD group, not just BYD Auto. Other manufacturers have their own nuances:

• Volkswagen’s 656,134 employees only include the automotive group (Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Skoda, etc.), and not large divisions such as finance. However, it does include small divisions of components, such as engines or transmissions.
• The 389,144 employees of Toyota are only from Toyota Motor Corporation, it does not include Industries (components, textiles, forklifts, etc.), Aisin (transmissions, brakes), Denso (electronic components) or Boshoku (interiors). The complete Toyota ecosystem would be about 800,000 employees.

The context. BYD applies a long vertical integration:

• They internally produce batteries, semiconductors, software, heat pumps, electric motors, control systems, fast charging and structural elements.
• This strategy allows them total quality control, cost reduction and speed of innovation superior to rivals that depend on external suppliers.

Its eight factories in China have tens of thousands of workers. Each one. The Zhengzhou plant has 60,000 employees and plans to hire 20,000 more. Furthermore, they have created authentic “industrial cities“with housing, services, commercial establishments and sports facilities for workers.

In figures. The numbers justify the strategy:

• Employee growth: 37.73% in 2024 (265,400 new workers).
• R&D personnel: 110,000 engineers, the largest in the automotive world.
• Cars sold: 4.27 million units in 2024.

Go deeper. The contrast with its competitors is striking:

• Tesla laid off 15,000 employees in 2024.
• Ford plans to eliminate 4,000 jobs in Europe.
• Renault is considering laying off 3,000.
• BYD continues to increase its workforce.

However, direct comparisons are complex due to the different business structures mentioned above.

They have hired almost 50,000 recent college graduates in two years in China. In the rest of the world they are also advancing: they are building factories in Hungary (2,000 jobs), Mexico (10,000 planned jobs), Brazil, Thailand and Indonesia. Its expansion model, as we have already seen in Spaingoes through the total localization of the production chain.

The question is whether this model is sustainable in the face of increasing automation. In fact, Tesla has clearly shown its approach to robotization, but BYD seems to prioritize the human factor for the moment. At least for its model of total control of the productive ecosystem.

Featured image | Tiago Ferreira

In Xataka | If the question is “would I pay 100,000 euros for a BYD” the answer is “recharges in five minutes.” And we will see them next year