Data released by the China Passenger Car Association shows that BYD sold 113,768 vehicles in May. This puts it in second place in terms of retail sales in the local market, just behind FAW-Volkswagen, which sold 150,009 cars.
BYD’s result deserves respect since the company no longer produces passenger cars with internal combustion engines. This means that all cars sold in May were either plug-in hybrids or fully electric.
BYD sales in May increased by 159.5% year-on-year compared to May last year, while FAW-Volkswagen sales fell by 10.6%. The third best-selling automaker in China in May was Geely with 73,315 sales, down 14.5% from a year ago.
“Overall, May sales of passenger cars in China fell by 11.8% compared to last year, but sales of cars powered by new energy sources increased by 91.2%.”
BYD is the leader in this niche. This is followed by GM’s joint venture with Wuling Motors and Tesla. In early May, it became known that BYD sold 397,420 cars in the first four months of the year, which is 166% more than in the first four months of 2021. Sales of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles increased by 388% in the reporting months.