BYD maintains fast start to year with strong February sales

BYD, China’s top-selling auto brand, maintained its strong start to the year, posting another jump in monthly sales in February as rivals only held ground or slipped back.

BYD sold more than 318,000 pure electric and hybrid passenger vehicles last month, up 161 per cent year on year, and also higher than January’s sales. The carmaker notched another record month for overseas sales, which hit 67,025 units.

The Shenzhen-based auto giant’s nearest challenger, Geely Automobile Holdings, posted an 84 per cent increase year on year to almost 205,000 vehicles in February, but fell below its January total.

Among the EV upstarts, Xpeng, Li Auto and Nio largely mirrored January’s sales performance in February.

Meanwhile, smartphone maker Xiaomi, which burst onto the car scene with strong sales, says it delivered more than 20,000 SU7s last month for the fifth consecutive month. The company also said on Friday that it received more than 10,000 pre-orders for its high-end SU7 Ultra EV in two hours. The most expensive model in its SU7 Series, it costs 529,900 yuan (S$98,143).

Separately, BYD and Chinese drone maker DJI Technology on Sunday formally unveiled a vehicle-mounted drone in a further attempt to boost the attractiveness of its battery-powered cars. Last month, BYD added advanced driver-assistance features across most of its lineup for no extra cost.

Geely will unveil its own driver-assistance features later on Monday.

BYD is the best-performing stock in the Bloomberg World Auto Manufacturers Index this year, gaining around 40 per cent. Tesla is the worst, down 27 per cent. BLOOMBERG