Since the end of 2015, there has been a lot of talk about who sold the most EVs last year. Tesla did very well, delivering 50,557 cars, all but 208 of them Model S sedans. Nissan was right around that number, including sales of its e-NV200 van. Renault, Chevrolet, Ford and BMW all sold 20,000 or more cars.
But the manufacturer who sold the most cars with plugs — either plug-in hybrids or battery electric cars — was BYD. The majority of them were delivered in China. It may surprise some people in the US that a company they never heard of was the global sales leader in EVs last year. But Americans will be hearing more about BYD in the near future.
The company is building electric buses for North American market at a factory in California. It also has some of its electric E6 hatchback SUVs operating in taxi service in various US cities. Uber is using 200 of them for its fleet of cars in Chicago.
Its two most popular models are the Qin plug-in compact sedan and the Tang plug-in compact SUV. It also builds the Denza compact hatchback as part of a joint venture with Mercedes for the Chinese market. BYD sold 61,722 vehicles last year. That does not include buses or low speed electrics, known in the US as Neighborhood Electric Vehicles.
At the start of 2016, it delivered the largest number of electric buses ever to the city of Shenzhen. The order was so large, it completely shut down the highway leading from the factory to the city.
China is making electric cars a priority as it struggles to overcome its massive air pollution problems. It wants 90% of all new vehicles to be electric by the year 2020. It is investing heavily in renewable energy sources to replace its many coal fired electric generating facilities.
BYD is at the forefront of electric car production in China and intends to stay there. Several years ago, its ambitious goals and competent management helped it secure a sizable investment from financial guru Warren Buffett. It intends to become a worthy competitor for Tesla Motors on the world stage.
The post BYD sold more cars with plugs than any other manufacturer in 2015 appeared first on ecomento.
Related Stories
Tesla leads all other manufacturers in global EV sales
2050 Motors Ibis electric sedan introduced in Las Vegas (w/Video)
Ford will make electrified cars, but doesn’t know if people will buy them