• was affected by seasonal factors like other EV makers.
  • Performance in overseas markets was a bright spot, with sales of 66,336 units up 16.07 percent from December.

BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) saw sales decline last month, affected by seasonal factors like its major local peers.

The company sold 300,538 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in January, up 49.16 percent from 201,493 a year earlier but down 41.62 percent from 514,809 in December, according to data it released today.

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China's auto market is notably seasonal, with the beginning of the year usually being a low point for sales, especially in the months where the Chinese New Year holiday falls, and the end of the year usually being a high point for sales.

This year's Chinese New Year holiday runs from January 28 to February 4. Most other EV makers saw a dip in January deliveries, according to data released yesterday.

BYD ceased production and sales of vehicles powered entirely by internal combustion engines in March 2022 to focus on producing plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) models.

BYD's NEVs include passenger cars and commercial vehicles, with passenger NEVs selling 296,446 units in January, up 47.47 percent year-on-year but down 41.81 percent from December.

Its commercial NEVs sold 4,092 units in January, up 763.29 percent from a year ago but 23.78 percent lower than December.

BYD sold 125,377 units of passenger BEVs in January, up 19.06 percent from a year ago but 39.65 percent lower than December.

Sales of passenger PHEVs in January were 171,069 units, up 78.73 percent year-on-year but 43.30 percent lower than in December, marking the third consecutive month of sequential decline.

Performance in overseas markets was a bright spot, despite a significant decline in overall sales.

In January, BYD sold a record high of 66,336 passenger NEVs in overseas markets, up 83.38 percent year-on-year and up 16.07 percent from December.

In addition to being China's largest NEV maker, BYD is also the country's second-largest power battery maker.

BYD's power and energy storage battery installations amounted to about 15.511 GWh in January, up 37.16 percent year-on-year but down 33.98 percent from December.

JP Morgan expects BYD to reach 6 million global deliveries by 2026