BYD chief reports workforce of over 1.02 million employees — Electrek
Chinese automaker BYD has more than 1.02 million employees, company chairman Wang Chuanfu said. This is more than the combined workforce of Toyota, General Motors, Ford, and Tesla. Electrek reports on the new figures.
According to Wang Chuanfu, about 960,000 BYD employees work in China, while another approximately 60,000 work abroad. Up to 120,000 employees are research and development engineers working on battery cells, motors, electronic control systems, and semiconductors.
Workforce growth after cuts
At the end of 2025, BYD reported approximately 869,600 employees — about 99,000 fewer than at the end of 2024. The reductions mainly affected manufacturing positions. At the same time, S&P Global Market Intelligence data cited by Electrek indicated 911,900 employees at the end of June. Thus, over the following approximately four months, the workforce increased by more than 100,000 people.
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BYD attributes its large workforce to vertical integration: the company independently produces batteries, microchips, and electric motors. The total figure also includes employees of controlled contract manufacturer BYD Electronic, which had 165,000 employees at the end of 2025, as well as its battery business, motor production, energy storage systems, and rail transport operations.
Comparison with other automakers
According to Electrek, Toyota had 390,927 employees as of March 31, 2026, Ford had 169,000 at the end of 2025, General Motors had 156,000, and Tesla listed 134,785 employees in its latest 10-K report. Together, this is about 851,000 people, or approximately 170,000 fewer than BYD.
Workforce size does not directly reflect vehicle production volumes, as BYD operates beyond the automotive sector. In the first nine months of 2026, the company sold 3,131,576 vehicles, down 3.9% compared with the same period of the previous year. Overseas sales reached 1,342,960 units during this period and grew by 92.7%.
