Shenzhen-based BYD announced Tuesday that it sold 106,042 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in April, up 313.2% year on year, among which were 105,475 new energy passenger vehicles, representing an increase of 321.3% year on year.
Four months of booming sales underscored the widespread acceptance of BYD products, positioning the company as a dominant player in terms of NEV market share.
Shenzhen’s production and sales of NEVs maintainead robust growth despite the negative effects from the epidemic in the first quarter (Q1) of the year and the industry chain remained steady and strong, which has become a new growth engine for local economic development, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.
The city’s Q1 production of NEVs and electric charging poles grew by 195.4% and 150.3% year on year, respectively, the Daily said.
BYD’s Q1 report showed its operating revenue reached 66.8 billion yuan (US$10 billion), up by 63% year on year, buoyed by the demand for battery-powered cars as it weathered supply chain kinks from an ongoing semiconductor chip shortage to more expensive raw materials. In Q1, BYD sold 286,300 NEVs, up by 422.97% year on year.
BYD announced last month that it had stopped producing traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles since March. The company set a new monthly sales record for a Chinese NEV maker with sales of over 104,300 units in the same month.
The company sold over 600,000 NEVs last year, up by 220% year on year, and remained on top in China for nine years in a row.
Shenzhen also witnessed an encouraging momentum in the production of electric charging poles and battery power packs.
A report from Shenzhen Dynanonic Co. Ltd., a leading company focusing on the production and sales of nano-lithium iron phosphate, showed its operating revenue reached 4.84 billion yuan in 2021, up by 413.93% over 2020. Its Q1 net profit attributable to shareholders reached 762 million yuan, growing 1,402% year on year.
The density of public charging poles for electric vehicles in Shenzhen had reached 73.2 per square kilometer, topping the country, according to a report released by the Ministry of Housing and Construction in August last year.
The city is building an NEV industrial base in Pingshan District, which will cover 107,800 square meters. Upon completion, it will be a benchmark industrial park for NEV development in China, the Daily said.
Cao Zhongxiong, executive chief of the New Economies Research Institute of China Development Institute, said the NEV industry is an emerging industry that needs continuous financial input from enterprises and policy support from governments. In Shenzhen, leading enterprises are reshaping the industrial and supply chains of the manufacturing industry with made-in-China products that are automated, digitalized and smart, he said.