This article is reproduced from the AutocarWeekly official account.
Author: BYD Northward
Nowadays, the day when sales figures are released every month is a carnival day for fans of BYD. The performance of October’s sales is very close to my personal guess, with a total of 89,935 units sold and a total of 80,003 units for new energy vehicles, with a month-on-month increase of 14.2%, basically achieving the number one sales in the new force every month.
Among them, the pure electric models continue to advance at a leading pace, breaking through the 40,000 threshold to reach 41,232 units, with a month-on-month increase of 13.6%, while the plug-in hybrid models reached 38,771 units this month, with an increase of 15%, basically meeting expectations, but the pure electric vehicles are still very stunning.
In this month, there were 9,015 units of fuel vehicles sold, which may surprise many people. In the second half of this year, the proportion of fuel vehicles has shown a significant decline, so why did it suddenly start to pick up recently?
As I have mentioned in several live broadcasts a few days ago, why not analyze it again today? On a certain day in November, BYD will officially announce the cessation of production of fuel vehicles, which means that the era of BYD’s fuel vehicles will soon come to an end. The models such as F3 and second-generation Song PRO that are currently in stock are basically in the stage of clearance sale. Under the big environment where everything is rising this year, they have reluctantly given some discounts, and this month’s sales number is also within expectations.
As the saying goes, let’s first look at the overall situation. According to the data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the sales volume of passenger cars in the fourth week of October decreased by 15% year-on-year, and the overall October is expected to decrease by 12%, which is a very depressing performance. On the one hand, various major automakers have tremendous pressure and are forced to halt production, and on the other hand, consumers’ enthusiasm for buying cars has significantly declined.
In addition, there is a very interesting point. Although the overall auto market is declining, the new energy vehicles have been reaching new highs month by month, with an increase of about 20,000 units each month, and BYD alone has contributed to an increase of about 10,000 units.
Let’s take a look at the sales figures of competitors in the new energy vehicle market this month: GAC Aion: 13,189 units; VW ID: 12,736 units; XPeng: 10,138 units; Nio: 8,107 units; Li Auto: 7,649 units; WM Motor: 5,025 units; NIO: 3,667 units; LeapMotor: 3,654 units; (Oran) Voyah: 1,006 units; JiKe: 199 units. The total sales of these ten companies were 65,370 units, and the sales of BYD alone was 1.223 times that of these ten companies. In October, BYD completed the feat of “being one against ten”. I made a simple chart to show you all.
If you still think BYD’s production capacity is insufficient, then you have probably been deceived by recent performance. Let’s review the overall trend of new energy this year:
In January, 20178 vehicles were sold; in February, 10355 vehicles; in March, 24218 vehicles; in April, 25662 vehicles; in May, 32800 vehicles; in June, 41366 vehicles; in July, 50492 vehicles; in August, 61409 vehicles; in September, 71099 vehicles; in October, 81040 vehicles.
From this set of data, we can see BYD’s expansion speed and determination. The era of the Three Thousand will always be recorded in history.
Next, let’s look at specific models. First, the flagship model BYD Han continued to sell well this month, with 11087 vehicles sold, an 8.2% increase from the previous month. Among them, 8287 Han EVs were sold, setting a new record, while Han DM only sold 2800 vehicles. As we previously analyzed, Han EV’s matrix became more complete after the minor upgrade and the launch of two new versions. Its comprehensive competitiveness is among the top. This report card is impressive.
However, the sales of Han DM were affected by Han DM-i, and it is difficult to see a significant increase in sales. Currently, many owners are anxiously waiting for the release of Han DM-i. This model itself is engineered to maintain the secret weapon of Han’s monthly sales remaining in the five-digit range. However, based on the current sales performance and my understanding of BYD, I can only tell you regretfully that the release of Han DM-i still needs to be delayed.
The Tang family performed normally this month, with a slight increase over the previous month. The total sales of Tang DM and Tang DM-i were 6762 vehicles, and Tang EV only had 100 vehicles sold.
Actually, I have always been curious about one thing: Han and Tang are both double-flagship models of BYD. Why is the treatment of Tang so much worse than that of Han? Many new technologies and configurations are all used on Han, while Tang seems to be a child with a stepmother. Shenzhen’s total production capacity is insufficient, but Han has been continuously improving. The delivery speed of Tang seems to have been stagnant.
The Song family sold a total of 23313 vehicles this month, with a month-on-month increase of 8.9%. Among them, 11706 units were delivered for the Song PLUS DM-i, 4588 units for Song PLUS EV, and 7019 units for fuel vehicles. Compared with the previous month, the increase in the number of Song PLUS DM-i was only 2700 units, which is not ideal, but with the seamless transition of the production line from fuel vehicles to DM-i, there will be a significant improvement.
However, let’s not forget that the upcoming Song PRO DM-i, which is also a strong contender, is expected to have a substantial order volume, and how to allocate it reasonably will depend on BYD’s level.
In addition, many people are paying attention to the SUV sales champion list. Last month, Tesla topped the list with concentrated deliveries, but this month, it is bound to decline significantly, so the suspense still lies in the hands of the Song family and H6.
The Qin family sold a total of 27725 vehicles this month, with Qin PLUS DM-i delivering 17503 units and Qin PLUS EV delivering 8405 units. DM-i products increased by 15.4% compared with the previous month, and the growth rate is relatively significant.
In addition, as I have repeatedly emphasized, the performance of Qin PLUS EV is also stable and outstanding, and it is bound to become a model with a stable contribution of tens of thousands of units next year. Objectively speaking, although Qin PLUS DM-i firmly occupies the domestic plug-in hybrid head, this is by no means BYD’s ultimate goal. There is still a considerable gap from the sedan sales champion, and DM-i production capacity needs to continue to increase.
In addition, someone left a message asking me about the promise of Nissan’s 2,000 vehicles per day production capacity in Xi’an. Why is the total quantity of Qin/Song DM-i so small? Here I will briefly explain that Xi’an is responsible for producing two models: Qin and Song, which include four types of vehicles: fuel vehicles, pure electric vehicles, DM and DM-i. Therefore, it is not limited to just the two models of DM-i, and adding these up exceeds 50,000 units. After all, the factory’s production capacity cannot always be full, and the current results are basically ideal, waiting for the fuel vehicles to free up space.
The Yuan family sold 6507 vehicles this month, an increase of more than a thousand units compared with the previous month, and there was no impact from the dolphin scandal. The main reason is that BYD reduced the price of Yuan Pro to make it a cost-effective model, firmly controlling the initiative in the small SUV market.
The surprise car model of the month is still the Dolphin, which had faced significant controversy during its initial launch. However, with the solid technology of the e-platform 3.0 and the excellent product power of the Dolphin itself, it has won market recognition.
Like I always say, you may refuse the Dolphin for its looks, but if your reason is its low cost performance and exorbitant price, then I can only believe that you haven’t done enough homework and are not its potential customer.
In October, the number of new orders for the Dolphin was close to 10,000, reaching an incredibly high level. However, looking at the current situation, the long-term stable sales of this car will probably be between 5,000 and 7,000 units. As a boutique car, the Dolphin has exceeded BYD’s expectations, setting a good start for the e-platform 3.0.
That is the situation of BYD’s sales in October. In fact, it is the same old story. BYD has completely emerged from its own independent market and is not bothered by the bleak scene of the withered garden. Instead, it is thriving.
Easily achieving ten new models in October, and even thirteen or fourteen if they wanted to, but to be honest, these are nothing more than gimmicks. BYD has much more to do, with a heavy responsibility and a long road ahead. Their current achievements are not yet enough to be proud of. Whether they can surpass Tesla in pure EVs, help households complete the transition to new energy with DM-i, and maintain good quality while achieving high sales, these are the truly important things.
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.