Chinese battery and electric vehicle manufacturer BYD presents a model of its Han EV series at the 2020 Beijing Motor Show.
Evelyn Cheng | CNBC
BEIJING: Chinese carmaker BYD sold more than twice as many battery-powered electric cars as startup Nio delivered in March.
BYD, backed by US billionaire Warren Buffett, revealed on Tuesday that sales of its battery-powered cars amounted to 16,301 units last month.
That is more than double Nio’s March deliveries of 7,257 cars. Rival startup Xpeng delivered even fewer vehicles, with 5,102 units last month. Both companies continue to exceed analysts ’expectations with these figures.
In the new energy vehicle category, which includes hybrid and purely electric vehicles, BYD sold more than 23,000 units in March, bringing the first quarter total to 53,380 cars.
BYD also sold nearly as many oil vehicles during the first quarter, with 49,394 units.
Electric car sales come as China’s auto market recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, which hit the country hardest in the first quarter of 2020.
New motor vehicle registrations during the first quarter of this year amounted to a record high of 9.66 million, China’s Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday. According to the data, new energy vehicles accounted for 466,000, or just over 6% of newly registered vehicles.
The percentage of new energy cars that are pure electric nationwide was 81.5% in the first quarter, roughly the same as the 2020 ratio, according to public safety data.
When it comes to the world market, China’s electric car manufacturers still have a big gap to close.
The leader in the electric vehicle market, Tesla, said last week that it delivered 184,800 cars worldwide during the first quarter. Although the American electric car maker did not release figures for China, the company said in a statement: “We are encouraged by the strong reception of the Model Y in China and are making rapid progress to its capacity. complete production “.
Elon Musk’s automotive company began shipping a China-made Model Y in January. The car was the third-best-selling energy vehicle in China in February, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
Tesla has installed an annual production capacity of 200,000 units of the Model Y at its factory in Shanghai, according to a presentation by investors in late January.