The Xi'an plant is one of 's most important bases, where some versions of the popular Qin sedan and all models of the compact SUV Song series are produced.

(Image credit: BYD)

BYD, which previously saw a backlog of orders due to a lack of capacity, is expected to see its deliveries delayed further as the latest Covid-19 outbreak hits the city where one of its plants is located.

Production has been halted at BYD's plant in Xi'an, which has been forced into a lockdown because of the new Covid-19 outbreak, according to a report today by iautodaily.com. Xi'an is the capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi province.

The Xi'an city government announced Wednesday that the city went into a lockdown starting at 00:00 on December 23, 2021, and everyone is banned from going outside in principle, except for essential personnel who keep the city running.

The Xi'an plant is one of BYD's most important bases, where some versions of the hot-selling sedan Qin, as well as all models of the compact SUV Song series, are produced, according to the report.

The report cited an update from BYD sources in a WeChat status that said the original production schedule and the date consumers are expected to get deliveries will be delayed because of the lockdown.

Separately, cls.cn quoted BYD sources as saying that the outbreak has had some impact on production at the company's Xi'an campus and that it is actively responding.

BYD, which has operations in Xi'an including passenger cars, commercial vehicles, electronics, rail transportation and power batteries, produced 55,000 vehicles at its Xi'an plant in November, according to the report.

"BYD has eight production bases in China, and the Xi'an base will be affected to some extent by the outbreak in terms of production this month. But from a full-year perspective, the impact will not be significant," the report quoted an industry source close to BYD as saying.

BYD sold 91,219 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in November, up 242 percent from a year earlier and up 13 percent from October, according to figures the company released earlier this month.

That includes 90,121 passenger cars, and 1,098 commercial vehicles.

Among new energy passenger vehicles, BYD sold 46,137 pure electric vehicles in November, up 153 percent from 18,220 units a year earlier. It sold 43,984 units of plug-in hybrids in November, up 500 percent from 7,333 units a year earlier.