China’s EV boom drives BYD profits

BYD posted a 204% rise in first-half profit on Wednesday, as China’s new energy vehicle market continues to surge, Automotive News Europe reported.

The Shenzhen-based company, which is backed by U.S. investor Warren Buffett and whose products include full-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, posted net profit of 1.45 billion yuan (US$205.29 million), up from 479.10 million yuan a year earlier.

BYD sold 145,653 so-called new energy vehicles between January and June, up 95% from a year earlier. It also sold 82,419 gasoline models, down 45%, the report said.

Revenue rose 15% to 62.18 billion yuan from 54.15 billion.

BYD, whose models include the Song series and the Qin plug-in hybrid, aims to shift its new-vehicle lineup to only electric-powered vehicles. It said last month it would develop battery electric vehicles with Toyota.

Overall sales of NEVs in China rose 50% in the first six months of this year from a year earlier, but those sales fell 4.7% in July, the first drop in more than two years, as China cut subsidies on such vehicles from July, the report said.

China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers has trimmed its forecast rise for NEV sales this year to 1.5 million from 1.6 million.

BYD, which has a joint venture with Daimler, said the subsidies cut was likely to pressure companies in the industry in the short term, but would promote its healthy development over the long term.

BYD will launch models such as e2, e3 and a revamped Qin in the second half of this year, and expects the new models will further drive sales growth and support the leading position of the group in the industry, the filing said.

Meanwhile, BYD took third place on Fortune Magazine’s “Change the World” list 2019 that was released on Aug. 19, China.org reported.

This is the American publication’s annual ranking of companies seen as using the creative tools of business to help the planet and tackle society’s unmet needs.

“BYD began life as a manufacturer of cellphone batteries and didn’t make its first car until 2003. However, for three years, it has been the world’s largest maker of vehicles that run partly or wholly on electricity,” Fortune Magazine’s editors wrote on its website.

“The Chinese company’s development of a flexible ‘e-platform’ for EV design and construction has been key to its success. A basic BYD model sells for a mere $8,500 or so after subsidies, [becoming] a key factor in evangelizing EVs more widely. And a recently-announced joint venture with Japan’s Toyota Motors should expand BYD’s global footprint.”