SHANGHAI: Leading Chinese electric car maker BYD’s vehicle sales surged in 2024, the company said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 1), as the firm grows its overseas presence.
The EV and battery giant is the most prominent of Chinese automotive firms expanding abroad – plans that are increasingly threatened by thorny trade disputes between Beijing and the West.
BYD sold 4,272,145 vehicles last year, up 41.3 per cent from 2023’s 3,024,417 units, the company said.
In December alone, BYD sold 57,154 vehicles outside of China – a 58.3 per cent jump from the same period in 2023. But the company still sold almost 90 per cent of its cars in its home market in December 2024.
The majority of its 2024 sales were for plug-in hybrid models – 58 per cent of total units sold.
BYD – which adopts the English slogan “Build Your Dreams” – is the biggest EV manufacturer in China, the world’s largest automotive market.
The company’s quarterly revenue surpassed global rival Tesla’s for the first time during the third quarter last year.
The initial rapid sales growth of BYD and its industry peers in their home market was facilitated in part by generous subsidies from Beijing.
The European Union has said that extensive state support has led to unfair competition, with an investigation by the bloc finding that Beijing’s subsidies were undercutting local competitors.
The EU announced in October that it would levy extra tariffs of up to 35.3 per cent on Chinese EVs, prompting Beijing to say it would “take all necessary measures” to protect firms’ interests.
