The World Car Awards selected Stella Li, executive vice president of BYD, as the winner of the 2025 World Car Person of the Year. This marks a historic moment as she becomes the first woman to receive the prestigious award since its inception in 2018. It is also a major milestone for BYD, making it the first Chinese carmaker to win a World Car award.
Li was selected by a jury of 96 international automotive journalists from 30 countries. The jury also considered Stellantis chief design officer Ralph Gilles and Toyota’s head of design and chief branding officer Simon Humphries for the award. Li was chosen for her contributions to the global automotive industry over the past year, playing a crucial role in BYD’s expansion into global markets, launching new models, and surpassing the milestone of producing its 10-millionth new energy vehicle.
Jens Meiners, World Car Awards Chair Emeritus, highlighted Li’s achievements, stating, “Stella Li has impressed the World Car judging panel with her exceptional work as a key figure in BYD’s continued global growth. Her international vision and drive have seen BYD become a major player on the automotive stage in a short space of time, and her influence is not only felt within BYD, but across the automotive industry as a whole. We’re delighted to announce Stella as the 2025 World Car Person of the Year.”
Expressing her gratitude, Li said, “I am incredibly honored to receive this prestigious award. This award is the result of the 110,000 R&D engineers at BYD who continue to provide us with the latest technological advances that are reflected in our electric vehicles and Super Hybrid DM-i technology. I am glad to play my part in putting these sustainable technologies in the hands of as many consumers as possible around the world.”
Previous recipients of the World Car Person of the Year award include Adrian Newey OBE, then CTO of Red Bull Racing (2024); SangYup Lee, head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center (2023); Luc Donckerwolke, chief creative officer, Hyundai Motor Group (2022); Akio Toyoda, president and CEO, Toyota Motor Corporation (2021); Carlos Tavares, CEO of PSA Group (2020); the late Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA and Ferrari (2019); and Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO, Volvo Car Group (2018).
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