BYD sold 55,100 new energy vehicles in China between May 12 and 18, data shared on Chinese social media this Tuesday showed. The figures include both fully electric and hybrid vehicles.
Registrations in China fell 18.9% from the second full week of May, when the brand saw its best sales week of the year.
Despite the decline, BYD has surpassed 1 million vehicle registrations in China so far this year. Between January 1 and May 18, the company registered 1,022,800 vehicles in its home market.
BYD‘s sub-brand Denza registered 2,900 units, 100 units less than the previous week, while Fang Cheng Bao sold 2,800, up one hundred units.
The luxury sub-brand announced on Weibo this Tuesday that it has reached its 100,000th unit delivered — 18 months after handing over its first vehicle in November 2023.
Competitors
Tesla‘s sales in China soared 258% to 11,100 vehicles last week — it was the second best-selling new energy vehicle (NEV) brand in the country.
Li Auto followed with 9,200 weekly units, Leapmotor 7,500 and Xiaomi 7,200. XPeng registrations dropped to 5,800 vehicles, 16% down from the previous week.
In the premium EV sector, Nio Group listed 6,600 vehicles, from which 4,200 were Nio brand’s sales. Sub-brand Onvo represented 1,580 units while the recently launched Firefly registered 800. Zeekr recorded 3,600 weekly units.
Upcoming Models
Over the weekend, BYD launched its e7 sedan in China, part of a more affordable series. The fully electric vehicle is priced from 103,800 yuan ($14,400) to 115,800 yuan ($16,000) — and until June 30, customers can purchase it for 98,800 yuan ($13,700).
The mid-size vehicle has a 4,780 mm length, 1,900 mm width and 1,515 mm height, with a wheelbase of 2,820 mm and reaches a top speed of 150km/h. The brand did not reveal whether the vehicle will be launched overseas.
On Tuesday, the company announced a new partnership with Chinese car rental Car Inc for a 2025 summer vehicle program focused on green mobility.
Following positive results from their initial collaboration in April, Car Inc plans to increase its vehicle purchases next summer. The two companies will work together on test drives and joint marketing, according to the statement.
BYD is launching its Surf City compact in European markets. The model had its domestic launch in late April 2023, and is originally named Seagull — it was then renamed Dolphin Mini in overseas markets.
The fully electric vehicle costs less than $8,000 (57,000 yuan) in China and is expected to start at around £20,000 in the UK ($26,600) and €20,000 in the EU ($22,400).
Reuters reported two weeks ago that the group plans for half of its total sales to come from international markets by the year 2030.
BYD‘s global target for 2025 is of 5.5 million vehicle sales, with 800,000 of them being overseas. By the end of April, 25% of the guidance had been completed.
