BYD set for surge in 2022 profit as sales jump

China's BYD, the world's biggest seller of full-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, expects its 2022 net profit to be more than five times the amount it booked a year earlier, the company said.

With sales of 1.86 million cars, it expects a net profit of 16-17 billion yuan ($2.37-$2.52 billion) versus 3 billion yuan in 2021, an exchange filing showed.

The company said it had it achieved strong sales growth and significantly improved profitability and had "effectively relieved the cost pressure brought about by the rising upstream raw material prices."

The Shenzhen-based automaker stopped producing combustion engine vehicles last April.

Sales of its Qin and Han sedans, BYD's best-selling models, increased by 83 percent and 132 percent, respectively, in 2022, while those of Tesla's Model 3 fell by 18 percent, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

BYD still trails Tesla in terms of global sales of full-electric cars by almost 400,000 units, though the Chinese company is planning to ramp up sales quickly at home and abroad with its new series of BEV products such as its Seal model.

BYD will begin EV sales this quarter in the UK, with the launch of its Atto 3 SUV.