BYD posts strong green car sales

Leading Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker BYD sold 73,172 NEVs in the first quarter of 2019, up 146.9 percent compared with the same period last year.

The strong growth was primarily fueled by the sales surge of pure electric passenger vehicles, soaring 755.8 percent to 45,487 units. Sales of plug-in hybrid electric passenger vehicles rose 11 percent to 25,745 units, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement Monday.

In March alone, its NEV sales totaled 30,075 units, up 115.6 percent from a year earlier. Sales of its gasoline-powered vehicles in the first quarter declined 45.9 percent to 44,406 units.