After the profit boom, will BYD conquer Europe?
2023 sees BYD record a profitable record. But the Chinese company, first in the world in the electric car market, is starting to show some signs of a slowdown, while preparing its expansion into Europe. All the details
BYD, the Chinese car manufacturer which is also the largest seller of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the world, recorded a record profit in 2023: 3.8 billion euros, over 30 billion yuan. On an annual basis, the increase was 80.7 percent.
BYD is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange, China; one of its largest shareholders is Berkshire Hathaway, the US holding company led by Warren Buffett.
SALES ARE GROWING, BUT…
In 2023, BYD's sales grew by 42 percent compared to the previous year, to 76.8 billion euros. In 2022, however, the increase on an annual basis was much more sustained: 445.8 percent more than in 2021.
THE FIRST SLOWDOWNS
The company, in fact, suffered a slowdown in sales in the fourth quarter of 2023, also due to the intensification of competition in China, its main market and the largest market in the world for electric vehicles. In the final period of 2023, BYD's profits grew to 1.2 billion, 18.6 percent more: it was the most modest increase since the first quarter of 2022.
Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 grew by 15.1 percent to 22 billion euros.
THE PROJECTS FOR EUROPE AND FOR SUPERCARS
By 2024, BYD has set itself the goal of boosting sales in Europe – it will build a factory in Hungary and has been contacted by the Italian government for a potential investment – and of entering the luxury segment. The company, known for its good quality vehicles at very competitive prices, has in fact presented a 1.6 million yuan high-performance electric car (or supercar , in jargon) model that contrasts with cars from brands such as Ferrari and Lamborghini.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/byd-record-utile-2023/ on Tue, 26 Mar 2024 15:12:45 +0000.