BYD Auto reported，It sold 97,990 passenger vehicles in December, up 77.9% year-on-year (YoY). BYD’s passenger vehicles sales reached 730,093 for 2021, up 75.4% YoY. BYD’s annual passenger new energy vehicle (NEV) sales grew by 231.6% YoY to 593,745, setting a new sales record in China. NEV sales rose sharply by 236.4% YoY and reached 92,823 units in December.
In December, BYD EV and hybrid models sold 48,317 and 44,506 units with YoY growth of 148.0% and 448.6%, respectively. BYD sales volume has achieved record high, thanks to the core technologies including the blade battery, DM-i, as well as the e-platform 3.0. The annual EV and DM model sales reached 320,810 and 272,935 with YoY growth of 144.9% and 467.6%, respectively.
BYD’s flagship model Han has eye-catching sales
According to BYD ，the flagship sedans of the BYD Han family sold 13,701 units in December, up 6.7 percent from 12,841 units in November and up 13.3 percent year-on-year.
This is the fourth consecutive month that Han family models have sold more than 10,000 units, bringing full-year 2021 sales to 117,665 units and cumulative sales of 158,221 units since their launch last July.
Warren Buffett bet on success
Electric vehicles are a must-have in the race for the future. But to win the future, you have to lay the groundwork in the past. With BYD stepping into the wind of the development of the NE industry, its stock price has skyrocketed in 2021. Buffett has backed BYD for over a decade, holding around 22% in the Hong Kong-listed company.
In September 2008, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway subscribed for 225 million BYD H shares at a price of 8 Hong Kong dollars per share, accounting for about 10% of BYD’s shares after the placement. The total transaction price was 1.8 billion. Hong Kong dollars, about 230 million U.S. dollars. As of Jan. 5, BYD’s Hong Kong stock closed at HK$250 per share.
BYD is the world’s only self-produced battery vehicle company. Its business spans many trillion-level markets such as energy storage, batteries, electric vehicles, and chips. It has good competitiveness in various fields and has obvious advantages in certain segments. BYD’s full industrial chain development has made it gradually become a leader in China’s independent brand auto manufacturers and one of the leaders in the global NEV industry.
In April 2021, TIME magazine named BYD to its list of the “100 Most Influential Companies” as the only total new energy solutions provider from China. TIME recognized BYD’s global electric bus business, and also introduced BYD passenger vehicles, including the popular “Han” sedan. BYD would be one step closer to becoming the first trillion-dollar market capitalization car company in China when it breaks 300 yuan per share in August 2021.
The Blade battery and DM-i technology power BYD
BYD’s own research technology benchmark products, blade battery and DM-i technology, have enhanced BYD’s core competitiveness.
Battery safety has been an issue standing in the way of quicker adoption of EVs. The battery is one of BYD’s core competencies in making electric vehicles. The Blade battery that BYD first announced in March 2020 will address what Chairman Wang Chuanfu believes is the biggest enemy undermining development of the electric-vehicle industry: spontaneous ignition. He has high hopes for the blade battery, saying that it redefines the safety standard of new energy vehicles.
Blade battery is shaped like a blade refers to its flatter and longer shape, and through structural innovation, more batteries can be installed in the limited space of the car. While the cruising range is increased, it has a longer life and lower cost than the current mainstream ternary lithium battery.
The DM-i is a hybrid technology which is largely based on electricity. Powered by a battery pack with ultra-large capacity, a vehicle using DM-i is primarily driven by a high-power electric motor wrapped by flat wire.
Unlike the past plug-in hybrid, which was based on internal combustion engine, BYD DM-i super hybrid power system is based on pure electric drive. The gasoline engine is responsible for generating electricity, and the electric motor provides power to the car. The engine can also directly output the car power when necessary. The overall energy consumption of the vehicle is not only much lower than that of a fuel car, but also lower than that of a traditional fuel-electric hybrid energy-saving vehicle.
Happiness trouble: blade battery capacity cannot keep up with demand
Different from the common chip shortage problem in the industry, BYD is because the capacity of the blade battery cannot keep up with the demand, and the insufficient capacity can be regarded as a “happiness trouble.”
In September 2021, at the Shenzhen press conference, due to the slow delivery of DM-i hybrid models, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu apologized to consumers. Behind the slow delivery is the product’s hot sales that BYD has never expected.
BYD has experienced the whole cycle of ups and downs of new energy vehicles. With the help of electric buses, BYD has not only made a lot of profits, but also established a brand overseas. Wang Chuanfu saw the market, the beginning of BYD should take the lead in electrification of public transport, cab to follow, and promote urban charging facilities.
Fierce Competition in china EV Battery Market
“Energy Saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap 2.0”, Published by the Chinese Society of Automotive Engineering，which predicts that the penetration rate of new energy vehicles will reach 40% by 2030, compared with 12.9% at present, and that annual sales of new energy vehicles will account for more than 50% of total sales in 2035. Global new energy passenger car sales will grow from 3.311 million units in 2020 to 16.4 million units in 2025, corresponding to power battery shipments will grow from 158.2 GWh to 919.4 GWh in 2025.
BYD once revealed in the company’s investor conference call that its new energy vehicle sales target in 2022 is between 1.1 million and 1.2 million vehicles, an increase of 80% to 100% year-on-year. Among them, the annual sales of pure electric vehicles are expected to be 600,000, an increase of about 90%; the annual sales of DM models are expected to be 500,000 to 600,000, an increase of 80% to 120%.
The new energy vehicle sales booming, the future demand for power batteries is rising. The battery track is hot, attracting many competitors to join. In addition to battery companies, upstream raw materials and downstream car companies continue to extend their battery business. According to Caixin, December 10,2021， the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the “lithium-ion battery industry specification conditions (2021)” and “lithium-ion battery industry specification announcement management approach (2021)”, battery companies should not invest less than 3% of the current year’s main business income in R & D. When applying for a new capacity project, the capacity utilization rate of the previous year should exceed 50%.
