BYD extends market lead in China after posting 4Q profit jump

Wang Chuanfu, Chairman of Chinese electric automaker BYD, told reporters in Hong Kong Wednesday that the company is large enough to shake off the impact of a bruising price war and faltering demand in China, after reporting an 11-fold increase in fourth-quarter profit.

The strong result came as BYD extended its lead in the Chinese market, thanks to an expanding range of products that is helping it overtake Volkswagen to become the top-selling brand.

The company posted on Tuesday a quarterly profit for October-December of 7.3 billion yuan ($1.06 billion), up from 602 million yuan a year earlier.

The gross profit margin for automobiles and related products, which accounted for 77% of BYD's revenue in 2022, increased to 20.4%, well above the 3.7% margin in 2021.

BYD accounted for 41% of new energy car sales in China for the first two months of the year. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), by contrast, had an 8% share.

Wang said he expected the company's vehicle sales to grow more than 80% in the first quarter, which would outperform the overall market but mark a slower pace compared to BYD's more than 200% sales increase in 2022.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]

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