BYD, the China-based vehicle and battery manufacturer backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, announced today that net profit in the 1st three months of 2022 increased by up to 300 percent from the same period previous year, record sales of electric vehicles.
In a stock market filing, the company stated that net profit for the first quarter of 2022 would likely price between 650 million yuan, or $101 million, and 950 million yuan, up from 237.4 million yuan a year fast.
"Despite the negative impact of (the) macroeconomic downturn, the spread of the pandemic, and other factors, the new energy vehicle market maintained its general momentum of rapid growth," BYD said in a statement.
BYD sold 286,329 new energy vehicles in the first quarter of 2022, up from 54,751 in the 1st three months of 2021, a 423 percent increase, the company announced earlier this month. In addition, BYD's new energy vehicle sales quadrupled year on year in March, reaching 104,878 from 24,218 the previous year.
BYD, headquartered in Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong, hasn't been as hard hit by Shanghai's dramatic Covid lockdowns as rival Tesla, which reportedly began preparing to reopen its enormous plant in the city today after pandemic precautions disrupted production.
BYD's domestic rivals XPeng backed by Alibaba NIO backed by Tencent – and Li Auto all reported significant increases in March and first-quarter deliveries in China, the world's largest auto market and second-largest economy.
BYD's overall business is more diverse than its competitors, as it also manufactures handset components and photovoltaics. Dell, Apple, Xiaomi, and Huawei are among its clients.
BYD's net profit in 2021 fell by 28% year on year to 3.0 billion yuan, or $478 million, due to a shift in product mix. Overall, sales increased by 37.7% to 211.3 billion yuan.
