BYD, one of the largest plug-in electric vehicle manufacturers, announced that its cumulative production of New Energy Vehicles (NEV) - battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles - just reached 5 million. The jubilee vehicle happens to be a Denza N7.
It's a major achievement, which no other OEM has accomplished yet, although Tesla is close with more than 4.6 million all-electric vehicles produced as of the end of June 2023. In the case of BYD, sales are divided almost equally between BEVs and PHEVs with a minor advantage for BEVs (over 2.5 million BEVs and almost 2.5 million PHEVs).
According to the Chinese manufacturer, it took just nine months to move from three million NEVs to five million NEVs:
- 1995: BYD battery company founded (initially NiMH)
- 2003: BYD Auto founded
- 2008: Introduction of the first NEV
- 2021 May: 1 million NEVs after 13 years
- 2022 Nov: 3 million NEVs (18 months after the first million)
- 2023 Aug: 5 million NEV sales (9 months after the third million)
Most recently, BYD set a new record of more than 260,000 plug-in electric cars sold in a single month, while the volume between January and July exceeded 1.5 million (on track for potential 3 million units in 2023).
Not only is the production and sales volume quickly increasing, but BYD is also accelerating its export efforts, reaching 92,469 units sold outside China during the first seven months of this year. That's more than in all of 2022.
Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of the company, at the ceremony held at BYD’s global headquarters to celebrate this momentous achievement, said:
“Today marks a historic moment for BYD as we witness our 5 millionth new energy vehicle rolls off the production line. On this special occasion, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our customers across the globe for their trust in our products, our partners in the industry for this journey shared together, and every one of our employees whose hard work and dedication have made this landmark possible.”
The number of 5 million NEVs includes not only cars (BYD and luxury Denza brand) but also commercial vehicles (vans, trucks and buses). According to BYD, its buses now are used in more than 400 cities in 70 countries (but the vast majority in China), while cars are available in over 54 countries.
