China’s EV king BYD and 3 rivals report record sales as domestic market hums

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Xpeng, Leapmotor and Zeekr chart double-digit growth, even as the effect EU tariffs will have on export plans looms

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Employees work on an electric vehicle production line at a Leapmotor factory in Jinhua, in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, on September 18, 2024. Photo: AFP

Daniel Renin Shanghai

Published: 9:30pm, 1 Nov 2024Updated: 9:40pm, 1 Nov 2024

Four major Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers reported record monthly sales in October, buoyed by surging domestic demand, even as they grappled with barriers to overseas growth amid punitive tariffs levied by the European Union (EU).

BYD, the world’s largest EV assembler, sold 502,757 pure-electric and hybrid EVs last month, up 66.5 per cent year on year and 19.8 per cent compared with September, the company said in a statement filed to the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges on Friday.

It was the fifth consecutive monthly record for the Shenzhen-based company backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Most of BYD’s EVs were sold to domestic customers, with only 31,192 units, or 6.2 per cent, delivered abroad.

Xpeng, well known for its autonomous-driving technology, handed 23,917 EVs to mainland customers in October, rewriting its sales record for the second straight month as deliveries beat September’s by 12 per cent.

Leapmotor, backed by Stellantis, sold 38,177 vehicles in October, up 13.1 per cent from September, recording its fifth straight record month.

Zeekr, the premium electric-car maker controlled by Geely Auto, reported 25,049 deliveries in October, 17.4 per cent better than the previous record a month earlier.