José Miranda of BYD explains in an interview why the Nürburgring is an important development location for the company.

Since when has your company been using the Nürburgring for test and development activities, and what role does the Nordschleife play in your development work today?
YANGWANG began using the Nürburgring for test and development activities in June 2024, with testing programs conducted from June to November 2024 and again from July to November 2025. DENZA’s Nürburgring testing activities started in October 2025, with an initial program from October to November 2025 and further testing planned from April to October 2026. For both brands, the Nordschleife plays an important role as part of our international development and validation work. It allows our engineering teams to evaluate vehicle dynamics, braking performance, thermal management, chassis behavior, stability, durability and overall vehicle confidence in an extremely demanding environment. The Nordschleife is not only a test track for us; it is a comprehensive development tool that helps ensure our products meet high expectations in global markets.

There are numerous test facilities around the world. From your perspective, what makes the Nordschleife unique, and what insights can be gained here that are difficult or even impossible to obtain elsewhere?
The Nordschleife is unique because it combines many different driving conditions within one lap: high-speed sections, elevation changes, compressions, surface variations, heavy braking zones, blind corners and a wide range of corner types. Many proving grounds are designed to evaluate specific vehicle characteristics in a controlled way. The Nordschleife, by contrast, challenges the entire vehicle as a complete system.
This makes it especially valuable for understanding how different systems interact under sustained load. It is not only about peak performance, but also about consistency, repeatability, driver confidence and how the vehicle behaves when mechanical, thermal, electronic and software systems are working together under demanding conditions.

What role do factors such as the track layout, infrastructure, the surrounding automotive ecosystem, as well as the Nürburgring’s history and reputation play in this context?
The track layout is one of the key reasons why the Nürburgring remains so relevant for vehicle development. It provides very direct feedback on steering precision, braking stability, suspension tuning, traction, energy management and high-speed balance. For engineers, this makes the Nordschleife an extremely efficient environment to identify strengths, weaknesses and areas for refinement.

The surrounding automotive ecosystem is also highly important. The availability of experienced partners, workshops, logistics support and testing services makes the location practical and efficient for international development work. In addition, the history and reputation of the Nürburgring give testing activities there a special significance. Development work at the Nordschleife is recognized globally as a serious technical benchmark.

Your company is not headquartered in Germany. Why do you invest the effort required to bring personnel, vehicles and components to the Nürburgring?
The investment is justified because the Nürburgring provides development value that goes far beyond distance or logistics. As international brands, YANGWANG and DENZA need to validate their products in environments that are recognized and respected by customers, engineers and media around the world. Bringing personnel, vehicles and components to Germany allows our teams to work directly in one of the most demanding and established automotive development environments. The insights gained there help us refine our products for global markets and ensure that our engineering standards are tested against internationally recognized benchmarks.

What significance does the Nürburgring have for the perception of your brand and products, both in your home markets and internationally?
The Nürburgring has strong technical and symbolic significance. In our home market, testing at the Nordschleife demonstrates a commitment to international standards and shows that our products are being developed and validated in demanding global environments. Internationally, it helps communicate seriousness, engineering quality and credibility. For YANGWANG, the Nürburgring supports a performance- and technology-oriented brand image. For DENZA, it reinforces the perception of a premium brand focused on quality, confidence, refinement and product maturity. In both cases, the Nürburgring provides a respected context in which technical capability can be developed, validated and communicated.

What role does the Nordschleife play for companies seeking to strengthen or expand their credibility and market presence in Europe?
The Nordschleife plays an important role because it is widely understood in Europe as one of the most demanding environments for vehicle development. European customers and industry observers place high value on handling, braking confidence, stability, durability and repeatable performance. Testing at the Nürburgring shows that a company is willing to engage with these expectations seriously. For companies expanding their presence in Europe, the Nordschleife is therefore more than a test location. It is a credibility benchmark. It helps demonstrate that product development is not limited to internal standards, but is also measured against one of the most respected references in the global automotive industry.

How do you integrate the Nürburgring into the communication surrounding your product development, and what significance do record laps or other publicly communicated test results have in this context?
We see the Nürburgring first and foremost as a development environment. Communication around the Nordschleife should therefore be based on authentic engineering work: testing, calibration, validation and continuous improvement. It is important that any communication reflects the substance of the development process and not only the symbolic value of the location.

Record laps or publicly communicated test results can create attention and can be meaningful when they are transparent, credible and connected to real product development. However, the broader value of the Nürburgring is not limited to a single number. For us, it is about demonstrating technical ambition, engineering discipline and the ability to develop vehicles that perform with confidence under demanding conditions.