BYD Group said on Thursday it delivered 380,089 vehicles in April, in which 51.5% were fully electric vehicles, outselling hybrid models for the first time ever. Sales outside China also reached a new record, with over 78,000 units.
The figures mark a rise both sequentially — up 2.3% from about 371,400 units — and year over year, with a jump of 21.3%.
Passenger vehicles represented 372,615 of the total output, with 176,875being plug-in hybrid units (PHEV).
The Group sold 195,740 battery electric vehicles (BEV), a jump of 46% from last April, representing the best month in fully electric vehicle sales year to date.
The BYD brand, with its Dynasty and Ocean series, sold over 347,000 vehicles worldwide. Denza followed with 15,388 and Fangchengbao with 10,039. Luxury brand Yangwang reported 136 vehicles sold.
The company started global expansion in 2021, with overseas output evolution showing a tendency of growth since the beginning of 2024. In April, BYD sold 78,705 vehicles outside of China, a new record for the company.
In Sweden, BYD sales fell 48.5% to only 50 units, while in the Dutch market registrations fell by 1% to 268 units.
Europe
The world’s best-selling NEV brand will launch two more plug-in hybrid models (PHEV) in Europe this year, according to Maria Grazia Davino, BYD Germany’s head.
The executive told Reuters earlier this week that the company is “adapting to European demand,” noting that “not everyone is ready for electric.”
“Every month, we find the best balance between what the customer wants and what makes distribution successful,” Davino stated. “We want to do things right, in Germany and in all the markets in Europe. We are known as a company that moves fast.”
The company is preparing to open its first production facility in the continent, aiming to avoid EU tariffs, with production set to roll out in the second half of the year.
On Wednesday, a satellite image revealed by Business Insider showed the 300-hectare site on the outskirts of Szeged, Hungary, which is expected to produce around 200,000 vehicles a year.
South America + Africa
On Tuesday, the world’s largest car carrier ship, the BYD ‘Shenzhen’, departed from Jiangsu, setting sail to Brazil. The ship carries over 7,000 NEVs and it is expected to reach the Itajai Port in about four weeks.
The company’s passenger vehicle factory in Brazil will start production in June, aimed to produce around 150,000 vehicles yearly. Located in the state of Bahia, the first model to be produced will be the compact EV Seagull.
The group’s sub-brand Denza is set to launch in Brazil later this year, after having expanded to Europe earlier this month, through the Milan Design Week in Italy.
The Financial Times reported earlier this year that China is delaying approval for BYD‘s car plant in Mexico over concerns that the company’s tech can “leak across the border to the United States.”
On the other side of the Atlantic, BYD announced on Wednesday that it expanded last week to Benin, in West Africa, as it aims to expand to markets where EV adoption is still in an early stage.
It marks the sixteenth African country that the China giant is present in. Last year, the company entered Tunisia, Ecuador, Madagascar, and Ethiopia.
The company set a global goal of 5.5 million vehicle sales for this year, including 800,000 units overseas.
BYD sold 1,000,804 units worldwide in the first quarter, reaching 18% of its 2025 target. Including April numbers, the brand completed 25% of the guidance.
