Tesla Rival BYD Sales Jump as EV Competition Heats Up
Chinese electric-vehicle maker has emerged as a fierce competitor to Western EV makers
Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD reported a jump in March sales, a sign of intensifying competition from Chinese auto companies in the global EV market.
In the first quarter, BYD sold 626,263 new-energy vehicles, which includes EVs and plug-ins, up 13% from a year earlier. The company said Monday that March sales surged 46% after slipping in the first two months of the year.
Warren Buffett-backed BYD has emerged as a fierce competitor to Western EV makers including Tesla and the traditional automakers. At the end of last year, BYD overtook Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles on a quarterly basis.
Since starting in 1995 as a battery manufacturer, BYD has become China’s leading seller of new-energy vehicles. Its rise reflects China’s growing dominance in the EV space. Many of the country’s automakers have moved more quickly than Western car companies to bring highly digital EVs to market.
BYD also sells EVs that are more affordable than those offered by Tesla, putting a wider swath of the market within reach. It doesn’t yet sell passenger cars in the U.S., but is expanding globally, including in Europe.
BYD on Monday also reported a jump in exports in March, with overseas sales of new-energy vehicles nearly tripling to 38,434 units.
Sales of plug-in hybrids, which made up 52% of the company’s total first-quarter sales, rose 14%, while sales of pure battery EVs increased 13%.
China’s EV market has been locked in a fierce price war that is expected to continue in 2024, but BYD’s figures reflect the broad sales growth reported by Chinese carmakers so far.
Fellow EV maker Li Auto posted a 53% jump in first-quarter deliveries to 80,400 units, while XPeng’s rose 20% to 21,821 vehicles. Geely Automobile sold 475,720 units, up 49% from a year earlier.