BEIJING, Aug 28 — BYD, China’s leading electric carmaker, said today its half-year net profit had tripled based on record demand.

BYD posted a net profit of 10.95 billion yuan (RM6.9 billion) for the January-June period, up almost 205 per cent year-on-year, the group said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The result was in line with estimates made by BYD in July of between 10.5 billion and 11.7 billion yuan.

Half-year sales were also up sharply year-on-year, rising 73 per cent to 260.1 billion yuan.

Electric vehicle demand has soared in recent years in China, which is the world’s biggest producer of greenhouse gases in absolute terms, and BYD wants its sales to be dominated by electric and hybrid vehicles by 2035.

Generous subsidies have enabled sales to take off in recent years, while local manufacturers have also helped to spur growth in the industry.

"During the first half of 2023, Chinese automakers capitalized on the shift towards electrified, intelligent and networked vehicles, emerging as strong competitors in a fierce market,” BYD said, later adding it ranked "first in the sales volume of passenger vehicles among Chinese auto companies”.

Originally specialising in the design and manufacture of batteries, the company diversified into the automotive sector in 2003.

Foreign manufacturers, including Tesla, BMW, Mercedes and Audi, depend on BYD for their batteries.

The company this month became the first global manufacturer to pass the symbolic five million mark in electric vehicle production. — AFP