Warren Buffett-Backed BYD To Ramp Up EV Foray, Aims To Sell 600,000 Battery-Operated Units In 2022

Warren Buffett-backed Chinese automaker BYD Co BYDDY is aiming to sell 600,000 battery-operated electric vehicles in 2022, cnEVpost reported on Monday, citing a local newspaper. 

What Happened: The automaker also aims to sell between 500,000 to 600,000 plug-in hybrids next year.

The automaker sold a total of 91,219 new energy vehicles in November, a more than three-fold jump, of which battery electric vehicles contributed 46,137 units and the rest was sales from plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. 

The automaker expects to grab a market share of about 25 percent in China. BYD currently has about 18% share in the NEV category.

BYD has already sold 509,838 new energy vehicles so far this year. 

See Also: Warren Buffett-Backed BYD Beats Nio To The Punch As It Begins EV Deliveries In Norway

Why It Matters: BYD competes with a a number of electric vehicle makers in China including the global market leader Tesla Inc TSLA and local startups such as Nio Inc NIO, Xpeng Inc XPEV, Li Auto LI.

Chinese electric automakers are now looking to expand overseas after quickly establishing a presence in home country. In August, BYD began shipping the electric sports utility vehicle Tang to Norway.

BYD, which started off as a battery maker, has been focusing on switching to a fully electric vehicle lineup and its current new energy vehicle portfolio consists of cars, buses, and trucks.

Price Action: BYD shares, which have risen 29.59% so far this year, closed 2.64% lower at $72.7 on Monday.

Photo: Courtesy of BYD