BYD sells three millionth hybrid or electric car

The three-millionth plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle from new-to-Australia Chinese car maker BYD has been built – six months after its two millionth was made.

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Chinese car maker BYD has passed three million sales of hybrid and electric cars globally, as it ramps up its expansion into overseas markets.

The three-millionth “new energy vehicle” (NEV) – which encompasses plug-in hybrid and electric cars – was built just six months after BYD’s two-millionth NEV.

That compares to 13 years to go from zero to one million hybrid or electric cars, and another year to build the next million (from one to two million in total).

Across the first nine months of 2022, BYD reported about 1.18 million ‘new energy vehicles’ as sold worldwide – approximately 580,000 of which were electric cars, up 215 per cent on the same period in 2021, according to CNEVPost.

views 4 imagesAustralian BYD Atto 3.

BYD sales in export markets are growing, with approximately 9500 plug-in hybrid and electric cars reported as sold outside of China in October – compared to about 218,000 in China that month (via CNEVPost).

Deliveries of BYD’s first mass-produced model for Australia, the Atto 3 small SUV, began in September – but the company and its Australian distributor have yet to disclose sales figures.

Its Australian expansion is expected to continue next year with two new models – a smaller hatchback and larger mid-size sedan – with a ute and larger mid-size SUV also believed to be in development.

views 4 imagesChinese market BYD Tang EV.

The Chinese car maker claims it “has extended” its reach to 70 countries across six continents – including the likes of Australia, Europe, Japan, and parts of South-East Asia.

BYD has also confirmed plans to launch a new “high-end” luxury brand early next year known as Yangwang, which spy photos suggest is preparing a Land Rover Defender-style off-roader as its first model.

The company claims it will add another brand – in addition to Denza (a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz), Yangwang, and the main BYD marque – next year that will “[specialise] in professional and personalized identities, covering family cars and luxury cars”.

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.

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