EV giant BYD reports sharp rise in net profits
Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD reported a 32.8 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Wednesday, its fastest growth since the end of 2023, despite faltering spending on big-ticket items in the world's largest car market. Net profit hit 9.1 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in the April-June quarter, while revenue was up 25.9 percent from a year earlier at 176.2 billion yuan, it said in a stock exchange filing. For the first half of 2024, net profit jumped 24.4 percent to 13.6 billion yuan. BYD has taken a significant lead in the electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sector, leveraging its vertical integration strategy by using key components such as batteries made by the company. BYD has outsold the combined sales of Volkswagen's two joint ventures in China by 14.5 percent in the first seven months.  It is expected to unseat Tesla as the largest EV vendor this year with a 17.7 percent share of the global market, versus Tesla's 17.2 percent, according to analysts' estimates. It has been offering aggressive discounts for its best-selling Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs to secure its leadership position with a more than one-third share in China's new energy vehicle market. BYD has also expanded its international presence, such as in Europe and Mexico, where it has plans to set up manufacturing facilities.  The company is facing a 17 percent additional tariff for exporting EVs from China to countries in the European Union. Overseas shipments accounted for 11.9 percent of BYD's total car sales in the first seven months of the year, nearly double the number for the same period last year, according to calculations based on BYD's monthly data. (Reuters)