BYD entered the auto industry in 2003, and it sold its first NEV in 2008.

(Image credit: BYD)

BYD's (OTCMKTS: BYDDY, HKG: 1211) cumulative sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 1.8 million units, the largest Chinese NEV maker announced Saturday.

The company announced figures in early January that showed it had cumulative sales of about 1.51 million NEVs by the end of 2021.

BYD's latest announcement means it has already sold about 290,000 NEVs this year.

The company previously released figures showing that it sold a combined 296,329 units in the first quarter. Of that total, 104,878 units were sold in March, the first time the company exceeded the 100,000-unit threshold.

BYD entered the auto industry in 2003 and sold its first NEV in 2008, and currently sells about 20 NEV models.

On May 19 last year, BYD announced that its 1 millionth NEV had rolled off the production line, making it the first automaker in China to cross this historic threshold for NEV sales.

Late last year, BYD told investors that it expects to sell up to 1.2 million NEVs by 2022.

In early February, BYD unveiled its main goals for the year, the first of which is to serve 3 million NEV customers. That means the company is targeting sales of about 1.5 million NEVs this year, up 150 percent from the roughly 600,000 units it will sell in 2021.

In an announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on April 3, BYD said that the company has stopped production of fuel vehicles since March 2022 in line with its strategic development needs.

In the automotive section, BYD will focus on pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle business in the future, it said.