A slew of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers have announced record sales for the month October, led by BYD, one of the world’s leading best-selling car brands, which saw sales exceed 500,000 for the first time.
BYD saw sales reach 502,657 for the month of October. Having ceased production and sale of all internal combustion engine (ICE) only vehicles in 2022, that means all BYD car sales are either plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) or battery EV (BEV) models.
BYD’s sales are dominated by passenger vehicles, with only 2,131 commercial BEV or PHEVs sold during October.
Passenger electrified model sales hit 500,526 for October, up 66.24 per cent year-on-year, and up 19.86 per cent on September. Of that number, BYD sold 189,614 BEVs, up 14.57 percent year-on-year, and 310,912 PHEVs, up 129.30 percent year-on-year.
As is becoming increasingly common around the globe, the growth in PHEV sales is strong than that of BEVs, with PHEV growing 129.3 per cent year-on-year and 23.06 per cent over September, and BEV sales managing just a 2.2 per cent gain year-on-year and down 5.51 per cent from September.
BYD wasn’t the only Chinese EV maker to report a record October, with carmaker’s Xpeng, Zeekr, and Leapmotor all reporting record months.
Xpeng delivered 23,917 vehicles in October, marking its second consecutive record month, up 19.57 per cent year-on-year and 12.01 per cent on September.
Zeekr delivered 25,049 vehicles in October, a 91.55 percent increase year-on-year and a 17.42 percent increase on September, marking its own second consecutive record month.
Leapmotor, owned by Dutch carmaker Stellantis, delivered 38,177 vehicles in October, up 109.74 percent year-on-year and a 13.06 percent increase on September, representing the company’s fifth consecutive month of record deliveries.
All figures were published at the beginning of November by the respective companies. Reported in English by CnEVPost.
Two other Chinese EV manufacturers published steady October sales, with Li Auto delivering 51,443 vehicles for the month, down 4.2 per cent on September’s numbers, while Nio delivered 20,976 vehicles, down only 1 per cent.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.