It took BYD 13 years to see its first 1 million NEVs produced, and an additional year and a half to see the number go from 1 million to 3 million.

(Image credit: BYD)

BYD officially saw its 3 millionth new energy vehicle (NEV) roll off the assembly line today, becoming the first Chinese automaker to reach the milestone.

The company celebrated the occasion today with a launch event at its global headquarters in Shenzhen.

BYD's 3 millionth NEV is an all-electric Seal, which was officially launched in China on July 29 and 11,267 units were delivered in October.

BYD chairman and president Wang Chuanfu delivered the vehicle to Chinese women's football star Wang Shuang at today's event.

(BYD chairman and president Wang Chuanfu (left) delivers the 3 millionth BYD NEV to Chinese women's football star Wang Shuang.)

It took BYD 13 years to see its NEV production reach its first one million units. After that, its production rate accelerated significantly and it took only one year to produce the second 1 million NEVs.

From the 2 millionth to the 3 millionth NEV rolled off the production line, BYD took just six months.

BYD sold 217,816 NEVs worldwide in October, the second consecutive month in which it exceeded 200,000 units. The company stopped production and sales of vehicles powered entirely by internal combustion engines in March.

BYD's retail sales of passenger cars in China in October were 205,789 units, contributing 11.2 percent of all passenger car sales in the country that month, according to data released earlier this month by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

From January to October, BYD's cumulative NEV sales were 1,397,870 units, up 233.92 percent from 418,619 units in the same period last year.

BYD's year-to-date sales of pure electric passenger vehicles were 685,286 units, up 202.75 percent from 226,356 units in the same period last year.