Profits of BYD Co. surged fivefold last year after the Chinese automaker sold a record number of vehicles. tram and strengthen the battle with Tesla Inc. to gain market share.
Net income rose 446% to 16.6 billion yuan ($2.4 billion), the company said on Tuesday, matching a preliminary profit of 16 billion to 17 billion yuan it reported. 30. Analysts expected 15.98 billion yuan, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
BYD has sold 1.86 million electric and plug-in vehicles crossbreed by 2022, more than the previous four years combined and account for about 30% of total new energy vehicle sales in China. Half of them are battery-only electric vehicles. For comparison, Tesla has delivered 1.31 million electric vehicles. BYD stopped making cars that run entirely on fossil fuels last year.
The launch of the new luxury electric vehicle will help BYD expand its offerings this year and will help drive earnings growth further. But profits are likely to be squeezed by the ongoing price war in China sparked by Tesla by cutting back on domestically produced models.
Warren Buffett-backed BYD is stepping up its operations overseas, including in Norway, Denmark, the UK, Thailand and Australia.
BYD shares were up 1.5% in Hong Kong trading ahead of Tuesday’s results. They are down nearly 20% since early February, when the price war escalated and data showed Chinese auto sales fell in January as purchases slowed during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Company founder Wang Chuanfu will hold a post-earnings event with analysts and the media in Hong Kong on Wednesday morning.
