BYD's Stella Li named '2025 World Car Person of the Year'

NEW DELHI: BYD's Stella Li has been named the "2025 World Car Person of the Year", becoming the first woman and the first representative of a Chinese brand to win the award.

The BYD executive vice-president has been instrumental in BYD’s rapid international expansion over the past year, overseeing key model launches, entry into new markets, and the production of the company’s 10-millionth new energy vehicle.

A jury of 96 automotive journalists from 30 countries selected Li from a shortlist that included Stellantis chief design officer Ralph Gilles and Toyota design chief and chief branding officer Simon Humphries.


Jurors evaluated the contenders based on their contributions to the global automotive industry during the previous year.

In her acceptance speech, Li credited BYD’s 110,000 R&D engineers for driving the company’s technological advancements in electric vehicles and hybrid systems, helping to promote sustainable mobility worldwide.

Past winners were Adrian Newey (2024), SangYup Lee (2023) and Akio Toyoda (2021).

The World Car Person of the Year is one of seven honours presented annually as part of the World Car Awards programme, which follows international jurors as they test and evaluate vehicles globally in various categories.