Chinese carmaker BYD ranked among the top 10 auto companies globally for the first time, with vehicle sales in the first six months this year exceeding Mercedes-Benz and BMW, data showed. 

BYD on Monday released its first-half-year report, which showed 260.12 billion yuan ($35.66 billion) of revenues, up 72.72 percent. Revenue from auto-making and related businesses reached 208.82 billion yuan, up 91.1 percent year-on-year.

The company invested 14.25 billion yuan in research and development (R&D), up 120.2 year-on-year and surpassing its net profit for the period.

BYD said that the progress was due to the company’s rapid growth in the new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector. The company’s report cited data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, showing BYD’s market share in domestic NEV market stood at 33.5 percent as of the end of June.

The strong boost from the NEV business paved the way for BYD to enter the top 10 global sales list in the first half this year, with a total of 1.25 million vehicles sold, the Nikkei Asia reported, citing data from research company MarkLines.

China’s auto industry continued recovery in July, with total sales accounting for 33 percent of the global total, data from the CPCA showed on Tuesday.

First-half-year sales of China-produced NEVs hit 3.65 million, up 48 percent year-on-year, accounting for more than 60 percent of the global market.

Experts said the strong momentum will likely extend to the rest of the year, and China may become the largest auto exporter this year, outpacing Japan.

In the NEV wholesale market in July, BYD led with 261,105 vehicles, followed by Tesla with 64,285, GAC Aion with 45,025 and Geely with 41,014, the CPCA’s figures showed.

According to globaltimes.cn. Source of photos: internet