Warren Buffett-Backed Chinese Automaker Sold More Than Double EVs Than Nio, Xpeng, Li Combined In February

China’s BYD Co BYDDF sold more than double electric vehicles than the combined delivery volumes of homegrown startups such as Nio Inc NIO, Xpeng Inc XPEV and Li Auto Inc LI in February amid chip shortages and production halts.

What Happened: The Shenzhen-based BYD sold 43,173 battery-powered electric vehicles in February, a jump of 451% year-on-year and a sales decline of about 7% over January.

BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B), reports sales volume on a monthly basis, unlike local rivals Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto, which report delivery numbers.

Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto reported significant sequential declines last month, delivering 6,131 electric vehicles units, 6,225 and 8,414 units, respectively. The trio delivered 20,770 electric vehicles in February on a consolidated basis.

See Also: Cathie Wood Is Backing This Chinese EV Maker — Here Is How It Fared Against Rivals In February Deliveries

Nio and Xpeng attributed the decline to production halts related to plant upgrades while Li Auto said supply shortages hit production.

BYD’s Sales Breakup: BYD’s new energy vehicles sales jumped more than eight-fold to 88,283 units in February from a year ago. Sequentially, it was a decline of 5%.

See Also: Nio Deliveries Fall 36.4% Sequentially In February As Production Impacted By Holidays

BYD’s NEV portfolio consists of cars, buses, and trucks. The NEV category in China comprises plug-in electric vehicles eligible for public subsidies and includes plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles besides the battery electric vehicles (BEVs). 

BYD's gas-powered vehicle sales fell 73.5% to 2,795 vehicles in February, from a year ago. Sequentially it was a 24% rise. BYD’s gas-powered vehicle contribution has shrunk significantly in recent months as the legacy automaker focuses on the greener options.

BYD, Nio, and Alibaba Group Holdings BABA-backed Xpeng compete with Tesla Inc TSLA and Volkswagen Group VWAGY in China.

BYD had last year said it aims to sell 600,000 battery-operated electric vehicles and between 500,000 to 600,000 plug-in hybrids in 2022.

Tesla’s monthly delivery numbers in China, which are reported by third parties, are not yet known.

Price Action: BYD shares closed 4.9% lower at $29.1 a share on Thursday. The stock is 17% year-to-date.