China Auto Giant BYD Sells More Evs Than Ever

The Chinese corporate giant BYD said Monday that it sold 3 million battery-powered cars in 2023, its most ever, capping a turbulent year for China’s electric vehicle industry. Even as sales surged, heavy competition and a sustained price war took a financial toll on many automakers. But BYD last year sold 1.6 million fully electric vehicles and another 1.4 million hybrids, which are powered by both batteries and gasoline. Together that is a 62 percent increase over 2022. BYD is also making money, tripling its profit to $1.5 billion in the first half of last year. All told, Chinese automakers are expected to have sold about 9.4 million electric vehicles and hybrids last year, an increase from 6.9 million in 2022, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The group said it expected sales in 2024 to rise again, to 11.5 million. Already the world’s largest automobile market, China is now also its fastest growing, racing ahead in the electric vehicle transition that is upending the global industry. China rules the supply chain for battery-powered cars — from the mining and processing of cobalt and other minerals used in batteries, to the deployment of robots in factories that make cars and trucks. China’s electric vehicle companies and their suppliers employ some 1.5 million people. A big reason for China’s early lead in electric vehicles was the government’s heavy financial support for the industry’s development. After financial incentives for consumers expired at the end of 2022, automakers slashed car prices to lure buyers. Many companies including BYD introduced another round of cuts last fall, intensifying the price war that started earlier in the year. In November, BYD advertised discounts on five models of up to 18,000 yuan ($2,550). Last year’s price cutting was started by Tesla, the American automaker that has a factory in Shanghai.