BYD extended its lead over Volkswagen as China’s top-selling carmaker, with its wide range of electric vehicles (EV) proving hugely popular among local buyers. 

After dethroning the German giant for the first time earlier this year, BYD notched up 595,300 sales of plug-in hybrids and fully-electric vehicles in the quarter through June, increasing its market share to 11.2 per cent, according to data from the China Automotive Technology and Research Center. 

Volkswagen sold 544,000 vehicles in total, of which 23,433 were fully electric, or roughly 4 per cent. Tesla sold 157,000 of its EVs and ranks 12th. In purely EV sales, Tesla is second in China after BYD. 

Volkswagen had been the best-selling brand among carmakers in China since at least 2008, when data from the centre became available. 

The trend reflects the declining influence of legacy foreign brands and petrol-powered cars, as Chinese EV makers muscle in with increasingly sophisticated and more affordable models. BYD earlier this year introduced the 73,800 yuan (S$13,715) Seagull electric hatchback – the 55-kilowatt motor version offers about 306 kilometres of range.  

Global carmakers such as Volkswagen and Toyota Motor have meanwhile been hampered by their lack of EV offerings. Japan’s Toyota said on Tuesday (Jul 25) it dismissed around 1,000 contracted factory workers in China, as the world’s biggest car market rapidly transitions to clean cars. 

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Sales of new energy vehicles, which include plug-in hybrids and battery EVs, jumped 25 per cent in China in June to 736,000 units, accounting for almost two in every five cars sold, according to Passenger Car Association data.

BYD rose 3.1 per cent in Hong Kong, heading for the biggest gain in three weeks. BLOOMBERG