BYD's Vehicle Sales Jump 62% To 3M Units In 2023

BYD's Vehicle Sales Jump 62% To 3M Units In 2023

Chinese auto giant BYD said Monday its vehicle sales jumped 62.2% to 3.02 million units in 2023.

BEVs, plug-in hybrids

The world’s biggest seller of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids said it sold 1.6 million BEVs and about 1.4 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) last year.

In December alone, the Chinese automaker registered a 45% jump in its auto sales to 340,178 units. Of this, 190,754 units were BEVs, while 149,424 units were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, the company said in a statement.

The Shenzhen-based EV maker reportedly sold 71,231 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in overseas markets in the third quarter, a 323% surge compared to the year-ago period.

In October last year, BYD group said its net profit for the third quarter surged by 82.2% year-on-year to $1.4 billion (¥10.4 billion) due to an uptick in sales. BYD recorded operating revenue at $22.2 billion for the third quarter, a 38.5% rise from the corresponding period last year.

BYD Group’s total revenue also surged 57.8% year-on-year to $57.7 billion in the first three quarters of the year.

BYD Electronics, a subsidiary of the Chinese automaker, acquired the Singaporean division of US-based Jabil’s mobile electronics unit in China for $2.2 billion in August last year.

Dealer incentives

According to a Reuters report on Wednesday, BYD, which outsold Tesla in electric car sales globally for the first time in the fourth quarter, will offer rewards totaling billions of yuan to its Chinese dealers.

The Chinese automaker will pay $93.17 per car to the dealers if they have achieved their sales targets in 2023, with an estimated total payment of $280 million, the Reuters report said, citing two dealers.

BYD, which has 3,400 stores in China, has been rapidly expanding its sales network in China via dealerships to boost its sales, especially in lower-tier Chinese cities, the report added.

Net worth

Wang Chuanfu, chairman and CEO of BYD, has a real-time net worth of $14.5 billion as of January 2, according to Forbes estimates.

Incentives for EV buyers

In June, China announced $72.3 billion worth of tax breaks for consumers buying EVs and other green cars through 2027 in an effort to revive softening auto demand.

The country reportedly decided to exempt NEVs sold in 2024 and 2025 from purchase tax amounting to as much as $4,168.81 per vehicle, with the exemption halving for purchases carried out through the end of 2027.

The move is the latest in a series of steps to boost sales and production amid concerns over economic growth, which lost momentum last year.

In 2022, China —the world's largest market for NEVs—reportedly sold nearly 5.67 million NEVs, a 90% jump over the same period a year earlier.