Advertisement
Advertisement
BYD
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
A worker works on the assembly line at a factory of vehicle manufacturer BYD in Xian. Photo: Xinhua

Buffett-backed BYD stops making oil-fuelled cars in complete shift to new-energy vehicles

  • The Shenzhen-based car maker says it now only produces electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
  • BYD’s decision follows China’s pledge in 2020 to hit peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060
BYD

China’s largest new-energy vehicle (NEV) maker BYD said it stopped producing purely oil-fuelled vehicles last month and currently only makes electric and hybrid cars, as the country pushes towards its national goal of reducing carbon emissions.

“The company will focus on the businesses of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,” BYD said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Sunday.

The company promised to continue to produce and supply the components of its oil-fuelled vehicles to meet the needs of existing owners.

China issues plan for path to peak emissions and carbon neutral goal

The car maker, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has been cutting the production of oil-fuelled vehicles in recent months as the sales of its NEV models surged.

During the first three months of this year, BYD produced only 4,635 oil-fuelled vehicles, down more than 90 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according the filing. Meanwhile, the company’s NEV production jumped more than five-fold, reaching 287,530 units.

BYD said it sold more than 104,878 NEVs in March, including 53,664 pure electric vehicles and 50,674 plug-in hybrids, marking its biggest ever monthly sales.

The Shenzhen-based car marker leads China’s NEV market with a share of nearly 30 per cent in February, Tang Xuxia, an industry analyst at Guosen Securities, wrote in a recent research note.

BYD’s decision to quit the oil-fuelled car market followed President Xi Jinping’s announcement in September 2020 that China aimed to hit peak carbon emissions by 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

“Our strategy adjustment is in line with the national ‘dual carbon targets’,” BYD said on its WeChat account on Sunday.

01:47

Behind the scenes at BYD Auto: China’s biggest electric vehicle factory

Behind the scenes at BYD Auto: China’s biggest electric vehicle factory
BYD is among six international car makers – including Volvo, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover – that committed to phasing out fossil fuel vehicles by 2024 in last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Last month, BYD partnered with oil giant Shell to expand its electric vehicle charging network across China and Europe.
BYD, established in 1995 as a battery manufacturer, kicked off its car production in 2003 and has since evolved into the country’s top NEV maker.
1