Chinese EV giant BYD's first-quarter profit jumps fivefold

BEIJING/SHANGHAI — Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD Co. posted a fivefold jump in its first-quarter profit on Thursday as the company consolidated its leadership in the domestic market.

Net profit for the first three months of the year was 4.13 billion yuan ($596.56 million), up 410.9% from 808.41 million yuan a year earlier, on revenue up 79.8% at 120.17 billion yuan, the company said in a stock market filing.

The Shenzhen-based company, whose investors include Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, outsold Volkswagen-branded cars in the first quarter of this year in China, according to a Reuters analysis of data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Buoyed by its Dynasty and Ocean series of plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars, BYD sold 552,076 new energy vehicles in the first quarter, a surge of 92.81% year-on-year, according to the company.

The company sold more than 1.86 million vehicles in 2022, mostly in China.

BYD has joined many other Chinese brands in a price war started by Tesla, with the offering of discounts for its Song Plus and Seal EVs in March.

The price cuts have eaten into automakers’ earnings, with Tesla reporting a 24% plunge in first-quarter net income.

Last week, BYD unveiled its Seagull electric hatchback at the Shanghai autoshow, stunning visitors with a price from just 78,000 yuan — around half the level of the cheapest new energy vehicles available elsewhere.