BYD First Overtakes Tesla by Gross Margin, Profit Triples in H1 Despite Price War

BEIJING, August 29 (TiPost)— China’s top electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD Co. Ltd delivered a robust growth in the first half of the year despite ongoing price war.

Credit：Visual China

BYD’s net income surged 204.68% year-over-year (YoY) to RMB10.95 billion (US$1.4 billion) in the first six months of the year, roughly in line with its preliminary estimates, and revenue rose 72.72% YoY to RMB 26 billion, according to a half-year report earlier this month. The Shenzhen-based company expected in July a net income range between RMB10.5 billion and RMB11.7 billion from January to June, representing a YoY growth range between 192.05% and 225.43%.

The report suggested BYD generated RMB14 billion with a YoY increase of 67% in the quarter ended June 30, the slowest quarterly growth in more than a year, while the net income jumped 133.97% to RMB7.07 billion, gaining 65.2% from a previous quarter. More surprisingly, gross profit margin in the June quarter increased 4.33 percentage points to 18.72%, for the first time overtaking its rival Tesla. The U.S. EV giant’s gross margin fell 6.8 points YoY to 18.2% in the second quarter. That was the lowest margin in four years, highlighting the profit was severely dented by major price cuts. But CEO Elon Musk signaled his company still could further cut prices at an earnings call in July.

Strong vehicle sales remained BYD’s key powerhouse. The EV maker sold 1.256 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) with a 94.25% YoY increase from January to June, accounting for about two thirds of sales last year and approximately 38% of market share in NEV sector in the first half of the year. The sales include 631,400 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 616,800 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), up 101% and 91% YoY respectively.

BYD has accelerated sales outside China. Its monthly export has maintained more than 10,000 units since last November, and sales overseas hit a record high of 18,000 vehicles in July. The sales beyond China stood at 73,400 units in the first half of the year, more than doubling last year that had 55,900 units of annual overseas sales. 

The first half of year saw BYD’s aggressive expansion overseas. The company started building its first car plant in Thailand in March. The plant, located in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) special zone in Rayong province, is scheduled to begin production in 2024, with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles. It is supposed to serve as a hub for the production and distribution of EVs in Thailand, neighboring ASEAN countries and other regions. As of the kick-off of new plant, the BYD has delivered more than 10,000 units of ATTO 3, a SUV model that was first available for Thailand market in last October, according to People’s Daily.

BYD launched ATTO 3 and the BYD HAN, an elegant E-segment sedan available with two electric motors and AWD drive, in Italy in June, with first batch of stores in the country located in Milan, Brescia, Verona, Turin and Florence. It also showcased other two models—BYD Dolphin and BYD Seal along with the launch in the third largest economy in the European Union (EU). The same month, BYD launched five models in France, the No.2 economy in EU, partnering with first four major dealer groups with the aim to expand to ten groups by the end of this year.

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