BYD extends market lead in China after posting 4Q profit jump

By Michael Elkins 

Wang Chuanfu, Chairman of Chinese electric automaker BYD (SZ:) (OTC:), told reporters in Hong Kong Wednesday that the company is large enough to shake off the impact of a bruising price war and faltering demand in China, after reporting an 11-fold increase in fourth-quarter profit.

The strong came as BYD extended its lead in the Chinese market, thanks to an expanding range of products that is helping it overtake Volkswagen (ETR:) to become the top-selling brand.

The company posted on Tuesday a quarterly profit for October-December of CNY 7.3 billion ($1.06 billion), up from CNY 602M a year earlier.

The gross profit margin for automobiles and related products, which accounted for 77% of BYD’s revenue in 2022, increased to 20.4%, well above the 3.7% margin in 2021.

BYD accounted for 41% of new energy car sales in China for the first two months of the year. Tesla (NASDAQ:), by contrast, had an 8% share.

Wang said he expected the company’s vehicle sales to grow more than 80% in the first quarter, which would outperform the overall market but mark a slower pace compared to BYD’s more than 200% sales increase in 2022.