China’s BYD now has the world’s largest R&D workforce of any automaker after its latest hiring spree. With over 900,000 employees, BYD aims to continue climbing the global sales charts as it advances new tech to promote longer-range, more affordable EVs.
BYD becomes world’s largest automaker by R&D staff
After selling more vehicles than Honda and Nissan in the second quarter of 2024, BYD became the world’s seventh-largest automaker. BYD sold 980,000 vehicles in Q2, representing a 40% jump from last year. After a recent hiring spree, BYD plans to keep the momentum rolling.
According to BYD’s branding and public relations general manager, Li Yunfei, the company now has over 900,000 employees. Li posted a screenshot on social media, showing BYD’s staff reached 900,608. At the end of last year, BYD had just over 700,000 employees, meaning it added nearly 200,000 positions in 2024.
According to Li, BYD is one of the largest employers in China and is the largest employer of the over 5,300 companies listed on China’s mainland stock exchange. Li also said BYD is also the world’s largest automaker in terms of R&D staff, with over 110,000 employees. The company has recruited nearly 50,000 college graduates over the past two years to bolster research and development.