BYD sales tumble in January

Sales at BYD Co., China’s largest electrified vehicle maker, slumped 43 percent to 25,173 vehicles in January due mainly to the Lunar New Year holiday and steep cuts in electrified vehicle subsidies last year. 

The company’s electrified vehicle deliveries plunged 75 percent to 7,133 last month. 

That wiped out demand for gasoline vehicles, which rose 18 percent to 18,040, according to BYD filings with stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, where it is listed. 

China’s weeklong Lunar New Year holiday began on Jan. 5. Last year, it started on Feb. 5. 

BYD’s sales have slid seven straight months after Beijing slashed subsidies for battery EVs more than 60 percent and halved subsidies for plug-in hybrids in June. 

In 2019, the company’s new-vehicle deliveries slipped 11 percent to 461,399.

EV and plug-in hybrid sales dropped 7.4 percent to 229,506 while deliveries of gasoline vehicles declined 15 percent to 231,893.