Author: Xie Hezuo

Entering the sprint stage of the fourth quarter of 2022, major new energy vehicle companies have submitted their own performance reports. In the golden purchasing period of “September and October”, many brands have experienced certain growth, among which the growth rates of BYD, Aiways, NIO, Leapmotor, and Thunder Power all exceeded 100%. Only Xpeng experienced a year-on-year decline. However, the best-selling new energy vehicle brand is not a new force, but the traditional vehicle company BYD.

Especially after BYD banned the sale of pure gasoline vehicles ahead of time, the sales volume of other brands depends on market demand, while that of BYD depends on its production volume. From the results, the sales volume broke 200,000 vehicles in September, not only surpassing Volkswagen in the north and south, but also becoming the first single brand with monthly sales of more than 200,000 vehicles in the Chinese market.

Data shows that BYD’s new energy vehicle sales in September 2022 reached 201,259 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 183.1%; new energy passenger car sales were 200,973 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 187.0%. Among them, plug-in hybrid car sales were 106,032 vehicles, and pure electric car sales were 94,941 vehicles.

As of the time of publication, BYD has taken the lead in announcing its October sales: new energy vehicle sales were 217,800 vehicles, compared to 81,000 vehicles in the same period last year; cumulative sales for the year were 1.3979 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 233.92%, breaking through 200,000 vehicles again after September. According to the estimated data of the China Passenger Car Association, the wholesale sales volume of domestic new energy passenger car manufacturers in October was 680,000 vehicles, a slight increase of 1% month-on-month, and a year-on-year increase of about 87%. Based on this calculation, BYD’s market share in October will exceed 30%.

BYD’s achievement is remarkable, but considering that not all other automakers have yet released their October sales figures, we’ll focus on September sales and discuss the recent state of the auto market.

Compact Sedan Market Leader Changes Hands, Haval H6 Loses Its SUV Crown

In the compact sedan market, which has always been a fiercely contested battlefield for major carmakers, the top spot has been monopolized by joint venture brands for many years. Familiar models such as Corolla, Sylphy, Lavida, and Excelle have sold as many as 40,000 to 50,000 units in a single month when they were at their hottest.

However, BYD Qin PLUS took the top spot on this current sales ranking (excluding Wuling Hongguang MINI EV, which is classified as a sedan on the list). Relying on a dual strategy of hybrid and pure electric vehicles and offering products with extremely high cost performance, BYD Qin has won the recognition of many consumers. Although perennial bestsellers such as Sylphy and Lavida still posted decent sales figures, from the alternating top spots on the rankings and market trends, it is clear that new energy models will gradually replace pure gasoline models on the list.

Following the 3rd and 4th place, BYD Han achieved a 5th place finish with a sales volume of 31,336 units, a year-over-year increase of 206.5%. It’s worth noting that Han’s sales success was achieved with a transaction price exceeding RMB 200,000, which was previously dominated by joint venture brands in this price range. Han’s emergence has successfully broken the monopoly of joint venture brands dominating the market.The SUV market has always been popular among consumers, with many people’s impression of SUVs still being stuck on the Haval H6. However, starting from 2021, the dominant leader that has been ruling the sales charts for several months was banned, and no surprise, it is due to new energy.

Ranked first on the SUV sales chart is none other than Tesla Model Y. The allure of SUVs in the global market remains strong. Since the launch of the Model Y, Tesla’s sales have shifted from Model 3 to Model Y. In second place is BYD Song, which sold 45,934 units in September, once again breaking the record for the highest monthly sales, bringing it closer to becoming the champion of SUV sales for the year, far ahead of the third-best-selling Haval H6 with a sales volume of 16,887. Additionally, traditional strong sellers, such as Changan CS75 and Honda CR-V, have seen a decline in sales rankings. BYD Song has once again proved the success of BYD’s dual-power hybrid and pure electric strategy.

Moreover, the decline of fuel SUVs is not just limited to one company, like Great Wall. Taking the old-school traditional Honda for example, in August, Dongfeng Honda CR-V sold 22,754 units, but only 13,422 units in September, almost dropping out of the top ten on the SUV sales chart. One reason for this phenomenon is that traditional car manufacturers’ SUV sales have been seriously impacted, and the other is that the new CR-V is about to be launched. After adequate stocking, its sales may recover.After announcing the completion of the shareholding restructuring in early September and officially renaming itself as “GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd.”, Aion, the company’s two hot-selling models, AION S and AION Y, have achieved good results. The sales volume of AION S was 13,522 units, while AION Y almost made it into the top ten with a sales volume of 13,408 units. Regardless of sedans or SUVs, the future is ultimately new energy.

It’s not just about sales, but also about unit price

To sell cars well, it is not just about sales volume, but also about the underlying transaction price and cost, as can be seen from Tesla. Recently, the wholesale prices of mainstream car brands were announced, with BYD averaging 166,000 yuan in September, while Great Wall Haval was 114,000 yuan, Geely Auto was 110,000 yuan, Changan Auto was 104,000 yuan, and Roewe of SAIC Motor was far ahead with 97,000 yuan among independent brands. In comparison, the average price of joint ventures is 156,000 yuan for SAIC Volkswagen, 155,000 yuan for FAW-Volkswagen, 155,000 yuan for FAW Toyota, and 120,000 yuan for Dongfeng Nissan.

Didn’t expect that？BYD is still number one.

Want to sell well, technology is the way

It is not difficult to see that in recent years, the rise of domestic automobiles has advanced not only in marketing but also in technology. One of the most important factors that may have contributed to the popularity of BYD is its firm embrace of new energy. Almost everyone knows that new energy is the general trend, and BYD may be one of the most determined car companies to embrace it.In the year of 2003, BYD started to manufacture cars. If we turn back the clock to the previous year, 2002, what happened in the world?

In 2002, Volkswagen Group sold a total of 4.984 million cars, accounting for 12.1% of the global car market share.

In 2002, Toyota Motor Corporation produced a total of 5.744 million cars.

In 2002, BYD sold 0 cars.

In 2003, BYD brought us the well-known F3, and shortly after entering the automobile industry, BYD had already been laying out the plans for new energy vehicles. The pure electric sedan F3e was developed successfully in 2006, and the first generation of DM hybrid system F3DM was launched in 2008, marking the first step in mass production of new energy vehicles in China.

As we all know, BYD has been deeply cultivating new energy technology for nearly 20 years. Currently, they possess two mature hybrid power technologies: DM-i Super Hybrid and DM-p King Hybrid, as well as core technologies such as Blade Battery, vehicle-grade chips, E-platform 3.0, etc. As of June 2022, BYD has accumulated about 37,000 patent applications and 25,000 authorized patents worldwide.

In April this year, BYD announced the cessation of the production of fossil-fuel cars, becoming the world’s first car company to officially announce the discontinuation of production of such vehicles. With the sustainable model of DM-i super hybrid and pure electric vehicles, BYD runs faster on the track of new energy and has embarked on a road of high-speed development.

Summary:

Affected by factors such as the epidemic, the expectation of the automobile market this year is relatively pessimistic, presenting a pattern of the strong getting stronger. Among them, BYD is undoubtedly the most eye-catching star in the global automobile market. Apart from the wind of new energy from Dongfeng, the accumulation of technology and accurate product positioning are the logic behind the rapid growth in sales, making BYD achieve such outstanding results with an average transaction price of more than 250,000 yuan.

BYD has brought too much shock and surprise to the automobile industry this year. As an independent brand, it did not follow the old path of reverse engineering, but insisted on independent research and development of technology and deep cultivation, daring to take the lead in the new energy route. With the wind of new energy, the development of the new energy automobile industry is full of opportunities and risks. Traditional companies are falling behind, while new forces brands are rising from the ashes. Only those players with real technology and market understanding can have the last laugh. With three months left until the end of the year, BYD’s target of annual sales of 1.5 million units is within reach.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.