BEIJING, March 28 (TMTPOST)— BYD Co., ended the year 2022 with a highest ever quarterly profit and a shockingly more than ten-time-greater increase as China’s top electric vehicle (EV) maker smashed new sales record.

Source: Visual China

BYD, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway for more than a decade, shattered quarterly record with net income of RMB7.31 billion (US$1.06 billion) in the quarter ended December 31, according to an annual report unveiled on Tuesday. The profit represents a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 1114.5%, much stronger than the growth of 350% in previous quarter. Revenue climbed 120.4% YoY to RMB424.06 billion, compared with a 115.6% increase a quarter earlier.

For the year 2022, BYD posted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB16.62 billion, up 445.86% from 2021, beating analysts’ expectation of RMB15.98 billion. The annual profit is in line with the firm’s preliminary estimate between RMB16 billion and RMB17 billion released in late January. Revenue in the year jumped 96.20% to RMB424.06 billion, roughly in line with projection of more than RMB420 billion reported in January.

Annual revenue from BYD’s core business automobile and related products increased 151.78% YoY to RMB324.69 billion, accounting for 76.57%.  The gross profit margin reached 20.39%, largely improved from 3.69% in 2021. BYD sold 1.8025 million vehicles in 2022, up 149.88% from a year ago. With sales topped 200,000 units for the fourth consecutive month, BYD met its annual target of 1.5 million vehicles a month earlier and kept recording triple-digit monthly growth in sales since entering into 2022.

BYD said it has taken the first place in China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market for the tenth consecutive year. 2022 saw BYD extended lead over its U.S. rival Tesla. Tesla not only failed to meet its own annual target of 1.5 million but also was overtaken by BYD, whose annual sales suggest at least 500,000 vehicles delivered more than Tesla in the past year.

BYD outsold FAW-Volkswagen in 2022 and became the best selling auto brand in China’s passenger vehicle market, the first time for a native brand to win the annual sales champion, according to China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). This is such an important milestone that marks Chinese brands led by BYD began to challenge joint ventures in China. With retail sales of 1.779 million, FAW-Volkswagen ranked the second in 2022 but the growth basically stagnated compared with 2021.  

In the annual report, BYD said it would promote comprehensive expansion throughout NEV sector with its 7+4 Full Market EV Strategy, which comprises seven conventional types of transportation--passenger vehicles, taxis, buses, coaches, urban logistics vehicles, urban construction vehicles and urban sanitation vehicles, and four specialized types of transportation including vehicles for mining, ports, airports and warehousing.

BYD launched a new luxury electric SUV Yangwang U8, a rival of the Mercedes G-class and the Land Rover Defender. The off-roader is empowered by BYD’s brand new technology called Yisifang, also known as the e⁴ platform. The tech, based on four-wheel independent motor drive architecture, allows the Yangwang model to achieve 360-degree steering in one spot. In the annual report on Tuesday, BYD vowed to roll out more NEV passenger models and target more segments with new models for passenger transport, freight and special-purpose, so as to further enrich its lineup, increase the market share, and help maintain its leadership in NEV technology innovation and application.