BYD sold 111,939 pure electric passenger cars and 122,659 plug-in hybrids in December.

In December, BYD sold 11,320 NEVs in overseas markets, down 8.1 percent from 12,318 units in November. The company first announced overseas sales figures for NEVs in July.

In the fourth quarter, BYD sold 683,440 NEVs, up 156.74 percent year-on-year and up 26.87 percent from the third quarter.

For the full year of 2022, BYD's cumulative NEV sales were 1,863,494 units, up 208.64 percent from 603,783 units in the same period last year.

BYD's 2022 sales of passenger BEVs were 911,140 units, up 184.01 percent from 320,810 units in the same period last year. They account for 48.9 percent of all BYD's NEV sales in 2022.

Its 2022 passenger PHEV sales were 946,239 units, up 246.69 percent from 272,935 units in the same period last year.

BYD's December sales came against the backdrop of a massive increase in infected people after China's Covid controls were loosened.

BYD has been producing 2,000 to 3,000 fewer cars a day in recent days because many workers have been infected with Covid, said Lian Yubo, the company's executive vice president, in a December 22 speech.

BYD could have sold 1.9 million units in 2022, but because of the loss of production in recent days, there would be a 20,000-30,000-unit impact on December sales, he said.

The 1.9 million unit sales may not be reached anymore and could end up at around 1.88 million units, Lian said, adding that BYD is already the world's largest maker of NEVs.

The latest figures mean that the actual loss of sales due to Covid appears to be even greater than Lian had anticipated at the time.

In addition to being the largest NEV maker in China, BYD is also the second largest power battery manufacturer in China.

BYD's installed power and energy storage battery capacity in December was about 11.152 GWh, up 120.88 percent from 5.049 GWh in the same month last year and up 1.35 percent from 11.003 GWh in November.

For the full year of 2022, BYD's battery installed capacity was 89.835 GWh, up 136.90 percent from 37.921 GWh in the same period last year.