China's BYD sales of electric cars rose to 61,409 in August, more than four times the amount sold a year ago, as demand for electric cars continues to The rise in the largest car market in the world.
According to Arab Net, this figure was roughly divided between sales of battery electric vehicles and so-called hybrid cars.
The increase in sales outpaced July's sales of 50,492 cars. These data led BYD shares to rise 5.5% in morning trading in Hong Kong.
BYD, backed by billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, is one of China's largest electric car makers. But a number of start-ups including Nio, Li Auto and XPeng are looking to challenge it. However, these three are currently smaller and all delivered less than 10,000 vehicles in August.
BYD's numbers focus on sales volumes while Nio, Li Auto and XPeng have released delivery numbers, so the comparison is not the same, but it does indicate the size of the companies involved.
The global auto industry is grappling with two major issues - the ongoing pandemic and the shortage of semiconductors that go into the auto industry.
BYD did not provide any comment on the August numbers. But in its semi-annual results released last month, the company said profitability is influenced to some extent by factors including higher prices for raw materials such as bulk commodities.
China's new energy vehicle sales are expected to reach 1.7 million vehicles in the first eight months of this year, up from 600,000 vehicles in the same period last year. 2020, according to a Reuters report on comments from China's Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology.
