BYD celebrates the 1,000,000 plug-in vehicle milestone
BYD announces a milestone in the production of electric cars and plug-in hybrids: The Chinese manufacturer has now reached the mark of one million plug-in cars produced. Additionally, the market launch of the Tang model is imminent in Norway in the third quarter.
The one-millionth anniversary vehicle, a Han EV, rolled off the assembly line at the production facility in Shenzhen, according to BYD. However, the company does not break down BEVs and PHEVs in its production anniversary announcement. It is therefore unclear how many pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids are among the one million plug-in vehicles produced.
The group linked the announcement of the milestone to the announcement that the first batch of 100 Tang model all-electric SUVs is being prepared for delivery to Norway. These are to be delivered to Norwegian customers in the third quarter. BYD plans to deliver a total of 1,500 Tang to Norway by the end of this year. The move marks BYD’s entry into the European passenger car market. The manufacturer has been present with e-buses for some time.
Norway is supposed to be just the beginning. “The northern European country has been selected to kick off BYD’s journey towards a successful presence in the burgeoning NEVs market in Europe,” BYD writes. “With decarbonisation high on the political agenda in Europe, BYD’s entry into the passenger car market comes at an important time.” In Europe, BYD plans to focus solely on all-electric passenger cars.
According to its statistics, the manufacturer has already been gathering momentum since the beginning of the year. In the first three months of the year, BYD’s sales of electric cars and plug-in hybrids totalled 54,751 vehicles (+147 per cent), of which 38,599 were pure electric cars (+113 per cent). In total, BYD sold 104,145 vehicles in the first quarter, giving it an NEV share of 52.4 per cent and a BEV-only share of 36.9 per cent.
In April, BYD sold 16,114 BEVs (up 62 per cent from April 2020, but down 1.1 per cent from March). In addition, there were 8,920 plug-in hybrids (+288 per cent YoY, +26 per cent MoM), resulting in NEV sales of 25,662 electrified vehicles. This is 97.5 per cent higher than April 2020 and six per cent higher than March 2021.
Founded in 2003, BYD combines battery and vehicle manufacturing under one roof as a special feature. In 2004, the Chinese company unveiled its first all-electric concept vehicle called the ET, followed in 2008 by the first mass-produced plug-in hybrid, the F3DM. After various other models, BYD is now celebrating the BYD Han, which will be launched in 2020, as the next big thing. The luxury sedan can “compete with the models of the three German luxury car giants”, as the Chinese put it in their latest press release.
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