Yang Yang

1017800664@qq.com

SHARES of major Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Co. surged to an all-time high Friday, pushing the Warren Buffett-backed firm’s market capitalization to more than 1 trillion yuan (US$149 billion).

BYD’s yuan-denominated A shares jumped 8.19% to close the day at 348.80 yuan after retreating from a historic intraday high of 350 yuan hit in afternoon trading, giving the Shenzhen-based auto and battery maker a market value of 1.02 trillion yuan.

BYD is the first domestic automaker to be able to force its way into the one-trillion-yuan-market-cap group which also includes the world’s most valuable distiller Kweichow Moutai Co., Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL), the world’s biggest maker of batteries for electric cars, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which is the world’s largest bank by assets.

Shenzhen-listed BYD has gained more than 40% since May as investors rushed to snap up its shares, which have received a boost from the firm’s stellar sales figures, the government’s various incentives to revive the domestic auto market hit hard in recent months by the spread of COVID-19 and, most recently, comments by a top executive that the company is set to supply batteries to Tesla “very soon.”

The strong showing of BYD’s shares came just two days after the firm overtook Volkswagen AG to become the third largest automaker in the world with a market value of US$127.32 billion, trailing only industry leader Tesla Inc., with a market value of US$742.46 billion, and Toyota Corp., valued at US$228.44 billion, according to statistics provided by CompaniesMarketCap.com. BYD is the only Chinese carmaker to make its way into the top 10 in the rankings of the world’s largest listed auto firms.

BYD also makes batteries for electric vehicles and the firm is China’s second-biggest battery maker after CATL.

According to data released by South Korean market research agency SNE Research, BYD overtook LG Energy Solution to rank second in April in the world in terms of electric vehicle battery installed capacity. The firm had a market share of 11.1% in the global electric vehicle battery market from January to March, following CATL and LG Energy Solution at 34.4% and 15.9%, respectively, according to SNE Research figures.

BYD is among the biggest winners in China’s decade-long push into new energy vehicles and has maintained strong momentum despite coronavirus outbreaks and lockdowns. The firm has further cemented its position as the leader in China’s booming electric vehicle market by selling 114,943 cars in May, the third month in a row that its sales topped 100,000. The firm has sold 507,314 cars so far this year, up 348.11% year on year.

Electric vehicle sales are rocketing in China’s roughly US$500 billion auto market, which is the world’s largest.

China’s sales of new energy vehicles, which include electric cars and plug-in hybrids, maintained rapid growth momentum in May, with sales skyrocketing 105.2% year on year to a total of 447,000 cars. In the first five months of the year, more than 2 million new energy vehicles were sold across the country, up 111.2% from a year ago, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed Friday.