BYD posts record sales in China, buys German EV distributor to bolster European presence

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD announced it will buy Hedin Electric Mobility (HEM), one of the companies that distributes its EVs in Germany, as part of the Chinese company's attempts at building a stronger presence in Europe.

According to the agreement, BYD will take over sales of vehicles and parts in Germany, as well as management of BYD stores in Stuttgart and Frankfurt. Buying HEM will give BYD greater control of sales in Europe's largest auto market (2023 sales: 2.85 million) where the company sold a little over 4,000 vehicles last year.

The strategy ties in with BYD's attempts to ramp-up its overseas play to access North American markets through an EV manufacturing unit in Mexico and Europe through an assembly line in Turkey, as well as battery plant in Hungary.

The HEM transaction is subject to necessary approvals and expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year, the companies said. BYD's agreements with other dealers in Germany, such as Sternauto, are likely to continue, and HEM parent Hedin Mobility Group --- a Swedish entity which also handles distribution of Chinese car brands such as XPeng and Hongqi --- will continue to sell BYD cars in three German cities: Mannheim, Kaiserslautern and Saarbrücken.

Stella Li, Executive Vice President of BYD, said in a statement: "The existing partnerships with the German retailers will continue. Together with its retail partners, BYD will further extend outstanding customer services and warranty support in Germany."

BYD is targeting a 20 percent increase in annual sales this year, and offering aggressive discounts for its best-selling EVs to cement its leadership position. The company reported record sales in China for August, although demand for hybrids outpaced battery EVs.

Overall, sales for August rose a whopping 30 percent year-on-year to 370,850 vehicles, the company said. Sales of battery-only cars rose 12 percent, while sales of hybrid vehicles jumped 48 percent, accounting for just under two-thirds cars sold.

The company revealed it sold 31,450 cars overseas in August, taking its year-to-date total for vehicle deliveries to ~264,900, surpassing the ~242,800 cars sold overseas in the whole of last year.

If this monthly overseas sales pace continues, the company is on track to sell just below 400,000 cars outside China this year, analyst calculations show.