Seven major global electric vehicle industry players have secured a coveted spot on Time’s prestigious list of 100 Most Influential Companies for 2023, landing in different categories.
These companies include the following:
- BYD, Chinese EV, and power battery giant
- CATL, a Chinese technology leader
- Eviation Aircraft, zero-emission aircraft maker
- ZeroAvia, a British-American hydrogen-electric aircraft company
- Octopus Energy, a UK-based energy supplier
- Kia, a South Korean automaker
- Albemarle, American specialty chemicals manufacturing company
To complete TIME100 Companies, the platform’s editors, headed by Emma Barker, actively solicited nominations from various fields. They surveyed their extensive network of contributors, correspondents, and external experts. Subsequently, they meticulously assessed each nominee based on critical elements: impact, innovation, ambition, and success.
Unsurprisingly, these companies’ commitment to innovation has undoubtedly solidified their position as one of the industry’s leading players.
What makes these EV-related companies worthy of the spots?
BYD
BYD is arguably a global EV powerhouse, accounting for 39% of China’s electric or hybrid sales. The $100 billion firm has also penetrated 53 countries and regions globally. It further targets selling 3.7 million electric cars in 2023 to dominate the global market.
BYD models also claimed five spots in the top 10 bestseller EV list in Q1 2023.
CATL
Renowned as the world’s largest electric vehicle battery maker, CATL has continued to push the boundaries of battery technology and elevate industry standards.
One of its recent breakthroughs includes developing and mass-producing the Qilin battery, which offers an impressive range of up to 620 miles on a single charge. CATL claims that the Qilin battery achieves a remarkable volume utilization efficiency of 72% and offers an energy density of up to 255Wh/kg.
In hindsight, CATL was also on the list under the “Disruptors” category last year.
Eviation Aircraft
Eviation Aircraft successfully conducted the first flight of its all-electric passenger plane named Alice in September. It demonstrated the company’s seven-year process of engineering and development.
Following the significant breakthrough, the company secured more than $2 billion in orders for the Alice aircraft. Remarkably, the demand continues to increase, with another 70 unit orders for the vehicle in January.
ZeroAvia
ZeroAvia invented an aircraft with a hydrogen-electric engine. Its power is largely generated from fuel cells, with a lithium-battery assist. The company successfully conducted the 19-seat plane’s test flight in late January, just less than a month after obtaining the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) permit.
Octopus Energy
Octopus Energy developed innovative opt-in services, such as the Intelligent Octopus. This technology utilizes machine learning to automatically charge EVs during off-peak periods. It ultimately aids in balancing the electric grid and reducing EV owners’ expenditures by two-thirds.
Apart from that, the company also expanded the UK’s largest virtual power plant in early February. It offered EV owners lower charging rates when the grid was less crowded.
Kia
Kia America managed to advance in the North American EV market in 2022, hitting an annual sales record thanks to its first dedicated BEV model, the EV6 crossover. The EV landed second in US EV sales for most of the year, per Time’s report.
Albemarle
Albemarle is undoubtedly driving the EV revolution in the US with its lithium supply. It aids automakers in the production process, as lithium is a critical mineral necessary for EV batteries.
The company introduced innovative strategies, improving the lithium concentration amount it extracts by 25%.
In December 2022, the company announced plans to allocate $180m for a lithium research centre in the US.
See Also:
- Top 10 bestseller EVs in Q1 2023, Tesla secured the top 2 spots while BYD landed five spots
- CATL starts mass production of upgraded Qilin battery in China
- Octopus Energy expands UK’s largest virtual power plant
- Albemarle to invest $180m for lithium research centre in the US
- Lithium costs rebounded as electric vehicle demand
As the global transition toward EVs continues to gain momentum, these companies’ presence and contributions to the EV supply chain have indeed become increasingly vital. Through their groundbreaking technologies and innovations, these companies are now contributing to shaping the future of the EV industry.
Below are the top 100 companies arranged per category, with the EV-related ones highlighted in bold:
| LEADERS |
| Skims Founder Kim Kardashian Loves Your Body Nvidia Patagonia Duolingo Maven Clinic SpaceX Ganni JD.com Stripe Mercado Libre Bristol Myers Squibb Albemarle Intrepid Travel Brex Regrow Ag Wärtsilä Chief Lexie Hearing Circle Internet Financial Chipotle |
| DISRUPTERS |
| OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Is Pushing Past Doubts on Artificial Intelligence Cost Plus Drugs Canva Hoka Stability AI Chess.com Discord Grab 4 Day Week Global Plenty Colossal Biosciences LanzaTech Oddity Metaphysic Ample Baby2Baby Zipline Human Security Ramp Spotter |
| INNOVATORS |
| Kia America’s Unexpected Race to the Top of U.S. EV Sales Crocs Aclima Formula One A24 The North Face Papaya Global Hugging Face Therabody Schneider Electric Polygon Labs thredUP Kayrros Taco Bell Terran Orbital Runway Generation Genius Tazo Applied Materials Virta Health |
| TITANS Major League Baseball Commissioner Talks Rule Changes, Robo-Umpires, and His Message for Oakland Fans BYD Disney IBM JPMorgan Chase Live Nation Entertainment Kickstarter TikTok Mattel LVMH Samsung Land O’Lakes CVS Health Apple SK Group Microsoft John Deere Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd Lockheed Martin Siemens |
| PIONEERS |
| Why the CEO of Novo Nordisk, Maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, Is Cutting Supply in the U.S. Google DeepMind Happiest Baby Ameelio Seres Therapeutics Opendorse Eviation Aircraft Graphika National Payments Corporation of India Octopus Energy Honeybee Health M-Kopa Schnitzer Steel Industries Meesho Interface WorkJam Chainalysis Blind ZeroAvia Equip |
