100 percent

Esposito’s military background is evident from his posture and the respect he shows his co-workers. The focused discipline that the Chinese automotive manufacturer offers appeals to Esposito’s military training, as do the prospects for career advancement for him and his team.

He explained how he motivates the four supervisors and 92 employees who work under him to excel at their jobs.

“I treat them like family. There is so much potential for all these guys. They can look at me and say, he moved up to management in under a year — I can do that too.”

This appreciation was echoed by Peter Balin, a testline specialist lead, who used to work with his father in a small, family-run tire business. With other jobs scarce, he came to BYD looking for a fresh start when his father retired and closed the company.

“I started here as a bus driver just looking for a place I could grow into. Now, I’ve been promoted to work as a specialist lead, working directly under the testing supervisor, and my son works for the company too,” he added proudly.

But combining US and Chinese management and working styles to create a smoothly run business is not without its challenges.

“The cultures are pretty different, so there was a real period of adjustment in the beginning on how to mesh those different systems together,” David Ramirez, head of the “Sparks and Arcs” welding section and overseer of four supervisors and 97 employees, told Xinhua.

“But we worked through that. The salary and benefits here are comparable to US companies, our relations with the unions are good, and real promotion opportunities are there,” he added.

BYD is also leading the way in diversity. It is beefing up hires of women on the line and has African-American, German, Puerto Rican, Canadian, Armenian, Mexican, Arabic and Haitian employees, and lots of multigenerational Americans, too.

The list goes on, fueled by BYD’s commitment to open its doors to people of any ethnicity who are willing to work hard and learn what it takes to help the company lead the electric vehicle industry in technical innovation.

That innovation has its challenges. Ramirez, who has been in the automotive industry for more than 17 years, confessed, “It’s crazy how fast this company moves. For example, we build 22 buses, but by the time we get to bus number 22, there are new things in there that make bus number 1 look antiquated.”

In response to the increasingly serious environmental impact of global climate change, US states like California and countries like China are proactively mandating the adoption of electric vehicles in municipal bus fleets and the consumer market, too.

California has mandated to have four million electric cars and municipal bus fleets on the road by 2030, while China has mandated that there be seven times the current number of electric cars by 2025 and is actively contemplating a complete ban on fossil fuel vehicles in the not too distant future.

This is creating an economic boom for electric vehicles that BYD has been quick to exploit. Founded in 1995 as a rechargeable battery maker, BYD started to make cars in 2003, expanded into electric car manufacturing around 2006 and launched the world’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2008. BYD raced up the ranks to become the sales champion in the global EV market for three years in a row, from 2015 to 2017.

Their out-of-the-gate success prompted US billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to buy shares in the company and it now owns a roughly 8.2 percent stake of BYD.

Samsung and Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) also opted to invest heavily, betting on BYD’s ability to lead the pack in the global electric vehicle market, as it already does in China.

Recognizing that locating a Chinese company in the US and providing well-compensated employment for a growing number of US workers would be a win-win business model for both the US and China, BYD opted to set up shop in Lancaster, a small desert city an hour north of Los Angeles, bringing jobs and prosperity with them.

“The more Chinese companies build plants in the US, the more things get better,” Parris said. “But they face obstacles to doing business here that local officials have to help them navigate. We were able to be a full partner to BYD and help them through the maze of US laws and regulations.”

BYD now is one of the largest electric bus manufacturers in the US.

With big deals already underway in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Denver, that goal may be closer than anticipated. After expanding their bus division in under a year from 300 to 800 employees, BYD has yet to apply the brakes.

“The more entwined the US becomes with China, the safer the world becomes and the more prosperous the world becomes,” Parris said.

As other automotive companies gear up to compete with BYD for the next generation of electrical vehicles, the race is on.

“We are always evolving. There is always something new to learn,” Esposito said. “It keeps us all on our toes.”

“We are in it to win it,” added Ramirez. “And we will.”

Everyone can look to me as an example of how women can be successful business executives.” Stella Li,

Li, a senior vice-president of parent BYD Co Ltd in addition to her role at BYD Motors, said BYD opened a factory in Lancaster, California, four years ago with 30 employees.

“We came here and brought our technology and built a facility that now employs 900,” she said. “This is the kind of cooperation between China and the US that both countries should encourage and support.”

Li said BYD’s California plant produces electric vehicles such as municipal buses and is planning to expand into new product lines including electric trucks and forklifts.

“Our mission includes using our technology to purify the air and to cool the Earth by one degree,” she said.

Li said BYD has more than 50 customers for its electric buses, including municipal transit systems in Los Angeles and Denver, along with Stanford University and Facebook. BYD has also set up research and development facilities in the United States, she added.

Li has managed to advance her career in areas dominated by men. She joined BYD in 1996 as a marketing manager. Li established the company’s first overseas office in Hong Kong in 1997, the European headquarters in Amsterdam in 1999 and the North American headquarters for batteries and consumer electronics in Chicago in 2002.

“In China, we have women in the boardroom and in leadership roles. The US ratio is a little bit less. I hope my story will encourage women to seek leadership roles,” said Li, who has a bachelor’s degree from Fudan University in Shanghai.

Li said the award from Project Sunshine means a lot “because we try to become involved in the community”.