BEIJING — Chinese language automaker BYD is promoting much more luxurious electrical sedans a month than the main start-ups within the nation, regardless that general gross sales fell 11% final yr.

BYD, backed by American billionaire Warren Buffett, disclosed late Tuesday that gross sales of battery-powered electrical passenger automobiles fell 11% to 130,970 models final yr. Total gross sales, together with that of business and oil-fueled automobiles, fell 7.46%.

Nonetheless, gross sales improved in December, with that of battery-powered and plug-in hybrid electrical automobiles surging greater than 150% from the identical month in 2019 to 27,594 models.

Gross sales of BYD’s “Han” electrical automobile have additionally elevated each month because the July launch to surpass 10,000 models in November. December figures weren’t out there. That is in accordance with a transcript of an investor name accessed via the Wind Info database.

In late September, BYD said it delivered 4,000 units of the new luxury electric sedan in August, and that orders had topped 40,000 at that time. The automobile is available in each pure electrical and plug-in hybrid variations.

At these gross sales ranges, the “Han” mannequin alone is promoting simply in addition to electrical automobiles from Chinese language automaker Nio, and higher than that of different start-ups Li Auto and Xpeng.

The most effective performer of the three, Nio, mentioned deliveries more than doubled last year to 43,728 vehicles, with a month-to-month excessive of greater than 7,000 models in December. Nio plans to disclose its first sedan on Saturday.

The information comes in opposition to the backdrop of elevated investor curiosity in electrical automobiles.

• Nio shares have surged greater than 1,400% over the past 12 months.
• Xpeng, whose P7 sedan is driving progress, has seen its shares surge greater than 180% because the firm’s IPO in August.
• Li Auto shares are up greater than 160% because the automaker’s IPO in July.
• BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares have soared effectively over 400% within the final 12 months to file highs.
• Tesla, which joined the benchmark S&P 500 in December, has seen its shares climb greater than 40% since a inventory cut up in August.

These choose Chinese language electrical automobile figures nonetheless pale compared with these of Elon Musk’s automaker, which is ramping up manufacturing in China. Tesla mentioned it delivered 499,550 automobiles globally final yr, with a brand new quarterly file of 180,570 automobiles within the final three months of 2020.

China, the world’s largest auto market, started to emerge from a protracted hunch in automobile gross sales this summer time.

Gross sales of pure electrical automobiles from January via November rose 4.4% from a yr in the past, versus a decline of seven.6% in general passenger automobile gross sales throughout the identical time, in accordance with China’s Ministry of Business and Info Expertise.