BYD hopes to be China's No. 1 automaker in five years, and to be the world's leading carmaker by 2025 when the company will sell 9 million hybrid or plug-in cars a year.

At a time when the fate of Opel is still unclear, and the company from Ruesselsheim has become a victim of political interests just before the German elections, the biggest auto exhibition, the IAA, has nearby opened its gates.