BYD, Geely rack up more sales gains

August sales remained explosive at BYD Co. and Geely Automobile Holdings, China’s two largest private automakers, behind strong demand for electrified vehicles. 

BYD, China’s biggest electrified vehicle manufacturer, saw its August deliveries soar 36 percent year over year to 373,083 on demand for plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles, according to a tally the company disclosed this week.

Sales of BYD's passenger PHEVs shot up 73 percent to 222,384 in August, while demand for full-electric passenger vehicles only rose 2 percent to 148,470, the company said. BYD also delivered 2,229 full-electric commercial vehicles last month, including buses and trucks, a sixfold increase from a year earlier. 

Through the first eight months, sales at the company, which specializes in EVs and PHEVs, jumped 30 percent to approach 2.33 million.

August deliveries at Geely, which markets PHEVs, full-electric and gasoline vehicles, climbed 21 percent to 181,229, the company said this week. 

Geely’s sales growth was led by EVs and PHEVs. Deliveries of PHEVs rallied 82 percent to 28,442 while sales of EV models surged 56 percent to 47,042, Geely said. 

Through August, sales at Geely advanced 34 percent to roughly 1.29 million, with demand for PHEVs soaring 275 percent to 189,773 and EV deliveries surging 47 percent to 264,947.