BYD’s Han electric car, pictured here at the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show, is one of China’s most popular new energy vehicles.
Evelyn Cheng | CNBC
GUANGZHOU, China – BYD sold 61,409 new energy vehicles in August, more than four times the amount sold a year ago, as demand for electric cars continues to rise in the world’s largest car market.
This figure was distributed almost evenly between sales of battery-powered electric vehicles and so-called plug-in hybrids.
It was also an increase over the 50,492 cars sold in July. BYD shares rose 5.5% in morning trading in Hong Kong.
BYD, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is one of China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers. But several emerging companies, including Nio, Li Auto and XPeng, have tried to challenge it. Still, those three are smaller at the moment and all were delivered to less than 10,000 cars in August.
BYD’s figures focus on sales volumes while Nio, Li Auto and XPeng post delivery numbers, so the comparison is not similar, but it does indicate the scale of their respective companies.
The global auto industry has been struggling with two major problems: the continuing pandemic and the shortage of semiconductors entering cars.
BYD did not provide any comment on the August numbers. But in its half-year results released last month, the company said “profitability is affected to some extent by factors such as rising commodity prices such as bulk commodities.”
Despite the problems affecting the auto industry, the demand for electric vehicles continues to rise in China as the government drives the development of the sector.
China is expected to sell 1.7 million new energy vehicles in the first eight months of this year, up from 600,000 cars in the same period in 2020, according to a Reuters report on comments from the Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technologies of China. done on Saturday.