Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD recovered from its weak sales performance in February with very solid results in March 2024, marking its second-best month in history.
BYD plug-in EV sales – March 2024
BYD sold a total of 302,459 new energy vehicles, including battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models, in March 2024 alone.
Of that total, passenger vehicles accounted for the majority of 301,631 units. It indicates a whopping 46% year-on-year sales increase, hinting at a steady growth rate for the company this year.
BYD enjoyed a 36% YoY increase in its all-electric passenger vehicle sales last month, while its PHEV sales grew 56% YoY. Refer to the table below:
| Sales | YoY Change | |
| BEVs | 139,902 | up 36% |
| PHEVs | 161,729 | up 56% |
| Total | 301,631 | up 46% |
It is also worth noting that some 38,434 plug-in vehicles of the total went to exports, marking a new monthly record.
BYD plug-in EV sales – Q1 2024
In the entire first quarter, BYD’s passenger plug-in electric vehicle sales surged 14% YoY to more than 624,000 units. It is undoubtedly a positive sign for the company’s target of over 20% growth rate on average in 2024.
BEVs accounted for 300,114 units of the brand’s total passenger plug-in car sales, while PHEVs sold 324,284 units. Refer to the table below:
| Sales | YoY Change | |
| BEVs | 300,114 | up 13% |
| PHEVs | 324,284 | up 14% |
| Total | 624,398 | up 14% |
For comparison, BYD’s passenger plug-in electric vehicle sales surpassed 3 million units in 2023, up 62% YoY. It enables the company to advance as the largest Chinese automaker and top car brand in its home turf.
Top-selling models
As expected, BYD’s popular Song family (BEV + PHEV) was the top-selling model in March. It sold a total of 78,490 units, up 94% YoY.
The BYD Qin family followed with total sales of 40,569 units, almost similar to last year’s results.
The all-electric BYD Seagull landed the third spot with sales of 34,830 units, beating the all-electric BYD Yuan’s 32,806 sales.
| Model | Sales | |
| 1 | Song family | 78,490 |
| 2 | Qin family | 40,569 |
| 3 | Seagull | 34,830 |
| 4 | Yuan | 32,806 |
It would be interesting to see if BYD can defend its lead over America’s Tesla. However, Wall Street forecasts the Musk-led company to reach total deliveries of 425,000 units in Q1 2024. If it turns out to be true, BYD will ultimately lose its EV crown to Tesla.
