Chinese EV giant BYD posts 62% jump in 2023 vehicle sales

China’s BYD Co, the world’s biggest seller of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids, sold about 3.02 million vehicles in 2023, an increase of 61.9%, it said on Monday.

The Shenzhen-based automaker said it sold about 1.6 million battery EVs as well as about 1.4 million plug-in hybrid EVs.

BYD said its battery and hybrid EV sales in December stood at 340,178 including 190,754 all-electric vehicles.

BYD, short for Build Your Dreams, has been competing with Elon Musk’s Tesla by undercutting the company’s hefty price tag.

For instance, Tesla’s fully electric midsize SUV, the Model Y, costs about $65,400, while BYD’s Atto 3 sells for between $48,880 and $51,011 depending on the battery size.

BYD also offers higher-volume models that cost much less than what Tesla charges for its cheapest Model 3 sedan in China.

In the last quarter, the company sold 431,600 vehicles — just 3,500 fewer than Tesla delivered.

Founded by Wang Chuanfu in 1995 as a maker of rechargeable batteries, the Warren Buffet-backed carmaker diversified into consumer electronics, cellphones and, finally, electric vehicles in 2008.

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway invested about $230 million for an almost 10% stake in BYD, which has since soared roughly 35-fold, to around $8 billion, according to Bloomberg.

BYD has started making some inroads in the US, opening a manufacturing facility in Lancaster, Calif., where electric buses and motor coaches are made in the 556,000-square-foot facility.

Last year, BYD announced plans to build a plant in Hungary.