Global passenger car sales of China’s largest manufacturer increased by 66%. to a record 500,526 units in Octoberthe company announced on Friday.
The strongest demand was for plug-in hybrids, of which BYD sold 310,912 units. The remaining cars sold in October were fully electric models. Some of the company’s newer hybrids feature improved powertrains that have increased their range to more than 2,000 kilometers.
While BYD is breaking records, reaching half a million sales earlier than expected, Western companies, including Europe’s largest manufacturer Volkswagen, are struggling with serious problems in the world’s largest car market. For Volkswagen, Mercedes and Stellantis, China was the main profit driver, while the switch to electric drive significantly weakened the position of European manufacturers.
BYD Monthly Sales Compared to Last Year / Bloomberg
BYD domination
BYD’s stunning growth fuels fears that China is on the cusp of global automotive dominance at the expense of American and European rivals.
The question remains whether BYD will be able to translate its domestic market dominance into significant market share gains abroad. October’s foreign sales stopped at around 31.2 thousand. and this despite marketing pressures during the summer. In Europe, BYD was one of the sponsors of the European Football Championship.
Chinese companies are displacing the West
BYD wasn’t the only one to hit monthly records in October.Geely Automobile sold 226,686 vehicles last month, an increase of 28%. year on year and represents a new monthly sales record. A smaller Chinese car manufacturer Xpeng also reached a new peak. Last month, it delivered 23,917 cars to customers.
BYD’s revenues are greater than Tesla’s
BYD’s revenues increased by 24%. to 201.1 billion yuan ($28.3 billion) in the three months ended September, which was lower than estimates but topped Tesla’s sales of $25.2 billion in the same period.
From the beginning of the year to October, BYD sold 3.24 million passenger cars. As the last three months of each year are typically the peak shopping season in China, and sales of electric and hybrid vehicles are supported by expanded national and local subsidies that encourage consumers to trade in older cars for electric ones, BYD is on track to achieve its revised annual sales target of 4 million vehicles,
