BYD leads EV sales surge

Staff reporter and agencies

Chinese electric car sales rose in December with auto giant BYD leading the pack.

BYD (1211) sold 514,800 new energy vehicles last month, representing a 50.95 percent year-on-year increase, with 57,154 of them being passenger cars sold overseas.

Li Auto (2015) delivered 58,513 vehicles last month, up 16.2 percent year-on-year, bringing its annual deliveries to 500,508 units, while XPeng (9868) recorded a year-on-year increase of 82 percent in December deliveries to 36,695 units.

Geely Automobile (0175) said its total sales reached about 210,100 units last December, an increase of 43 percent year-on-year.

Its new energy vehicle brand Zeekr recorded sales of 27,200 units, an increase of 1.02 times year-on-year.

Also, Nio (9866) said it delivered 31,138 vehicles last month, marking a record high with a year-on-year increase of 72.9 percent. Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology (9863) announced that it delivered 42,517 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 128 percent.

In other news, Mazda Motor is wrapping up a banner year in an overall sluggish auto market.

Buoyed by demand for its gas-powered compact crossovers and mid-size SUVs, the Japanese company is on track to deliver more than 420,000 vehicles in 2024, a 16 percent rise, breaking a record set in 1986.

It aims to sell 450,000 vehicles in 2025.

Separately, China's capital Beijing passed new regulations on Tuesday to encourage autonomous driving technology in the city, with authorities planning to eventually allow driverless public buses and taxis.