From January to May, BYD has sold more than 500,000 vehicles, up about 350 percent from just over 100,000 in the same period last year.

BYD sold 114,943 vehicles in May, exceeding 100,000 units for the third consecutive month, according to figures released today by the largest new energy vehicle (NEV) maker in China.

That's up 250.44 percent from 32,800 vehicles in the same month last year and up 8.39 percent from 106,042 vehicles in April.

BYD discontinued production and sales of conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in March of this year to focus on producing battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs).

The company sold 114,183 new energy passenger vehicles in May, including 53,349 BEVs and 60,834 PHEVs. It sold 760 commercial vehicles in May.

From January to May, BYD sold 507,314 units, up 348.11 percent from 113,213 units in the same period last year.

The company produced 118,135 vehicles in May, including 57,029 all-electric passenger vehicles and 60,346 plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles.

BYD's total installed power and energy storage battery capacity in May was about 6.203 GWh, up 147.92 percent from a year ago but down 0.62 percent from April. BYD's total installed power battery capacity so far this year was about 27.183 GWh.

The company said in early April when it announced March's sales figures that it has stopped production of ICE vehicles since March 2022 in line with its strategic development needs. BYD sold 104,878 units in March, exceeding 100,000 units for the first time.

Notably, BYD's performance in May was achieved against the backdrop of the suspension of production at one of its major plants due to environmental concerns.

In early May, BYD's plant in Changsha's Yuhua district in Hunan province was shut down for investigation after nearby residents alleged that pollutant emissions were causing health problems.

The plant can produce models for the Dynasty network, including the Qin PLUS DM-i, Song MAX DM-i and Yuan Pro, as well as models for the Ocean network, including the Dolphin and Destroyer 05, and some core components.

In the first quarter of this year, BYD produced 292,000 vehicles, of which 62,500 were produced at BYD's Changsha plant, contributing about 21 percent.

With more production bases coming on stream, the temporary rectification of the Changsha plant may not have a significant impact on BYD's overall production capacity, local media reported at the time.