At the current rate of consumption, coal will only last for 200 more years and oil for 50 more years, said BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) chairman and president Wang Chuanfu called for mankind to move away from its dependence on fossil fuels as quickly as possible, and to achieve sustainable development by transitioning to new energy sources.

The use of fossil energy, which began more than 260 years ago during the first industrial revolution, has contributed to the rapid progress of human civilization, but it has also come at a heavy cost to human society, Wang said in a speech at the 2023 ESG Global Leaders Conference in Shanghai today.

In the past 260 years or so, humans have used up nearly half of the planet's fossil energy, he said, according to a video of the speech seen by CnEVPost.

At the current rate of consumption, coal will only be available for humans to continue using for another 200 years or so, and oil for another 50 years, he said.

"After fossil energy runs out, our next generations will face energy shortages. If we can't get rid of our dependence on fossil energy, after 200 years or so, we will run out of coal and oil, and where will human society go?" Wang asked.

BYD has been thinking about how to bring about change and promote the progress of human civilization and the sustainable development of human society with green technology and industry, he said.

BYD put forward its green dream of solar energy, energy storage power plants and electric vehicles in 2008, connecting the whole industrial chain link of energy from acquisition, storage to application, Wang said.

The company endeavored to power the transportation system with secondary energy and, after a long period of perseverance, ushered in today's opportunity and became the world's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) maker and the world's second-largest maker of power batteries, he said.

BYD stopped production of vehicles powered entirely by internal combustion engines in March 2022 and built the first zero-carbon headquarters for a Chinese auto brand in Pingshan, Shenzhen.

Corporate social responsibility is not only manifested in the participation in public welfare, but more importantly in the use of scientific and technological innovation for the benefit of mankind, to solve the energy crisis, climate change, air pollution, traffic congestion and other types of problems faced by human society, he said.

BYD sold a record 274,386 NEVs in August, an increase of 56.87 percent year-on-year and up 4.66 percent from July, marking its seventh consecutive increase.

From January to August, BYD sold 1.79 million NEVs, about half of which were plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and the other half were zero-emission battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

The rapid growth in NEV sales has fueled growth in BYD's battery business.

BYD installed 58.1 GWh of power batteries from January to July, up 94.1 percent from 29.9 GWh in the same period last year, and ranked second globally with a 16.0 percent share, according to South Korean market researcher SNE Research.

BYD sells record 274,386 NEVs in Aug, including 25,023 overseas