A BYD showroom in Shanghai last year. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Sales of new energy vehicles at BYD, China’s top-selling electric vehicle maker, more than doubled in December to a monthly record 235,197 from 93,945 a year earlier, the company said on Monday.
BYD, whose overseas push last year into Europe, Japan and elsewhere is helping build business beyond its domestic stronghold, said sales for all of 2022 tripled to 1.8 million units, underscoring the popularity of EVs in China’s world-leading auto market.
BYD is approximately 6% owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire, however, sold more than a quarter of its holding in the company in the second half of 2022. In addition to BYD, smaller China EV makers NIO and Li Auto have reported year on-year sales gains in December,
BYD’s overall business is more diversified than its rivals – it also makes handset components and photovoltaics. Among its customers are Dell, Apple, Xiaomi and Huawei. The company ranked No. 579 on the Forbes Global 2000 ranking of the world’s top publicly traded companies in 2022.
BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu holds a fortune worth $19.7 billion on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List today. BYD co-founder Lu Xiangyang, a cousin of Wang who also leads investment firm Youngy Investment Holding, is worth $13.9 billion, and BYD director Xia Zuoquan, who leads investment firm Zhengyuan Capital, is worth $3.7 billion.
China has the largest number of billionaires in the world after the United States.
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