At the beginning of April, two big news broke out in the domestic auto circle, both from BYD. The first is that BYD's sales of all passenger cars in March reached a new high, with monthly sales exceeding 100,000 units for the first time; the second is that on April 3, BYD officially announced that it will stop the production of fuel vehicles from March 2022, becoming the first car company in the world to officially announce the suspension of fuel vehicles.
The highlights behind these two news are also very meaningful, so I brushed up the car circle in the 3-day long holiday.
The first is that sales in March reached a new high and exceeded 100,000 units for the first time
The latest data show that in March, BYD's full line of passenger cars sold 104338 units, an increase of 160.9% year-on-year, which is the first time that BYD's monthly sales of passenger cars exceeded 100,000, setting a record high. Among them, BYD DM plug-in and mixed sales of 50674 vehicles, a year-on-year surge of 615.2%. Sales of 53,664 EV models increased by 229.2% year-on-year.
Behind BYD's explosive growth is the rapid growth of the domestic new energy market, and the data shows that in February this year, the retail penetration rate of domestic new energy vehicles reached 21.8%, an increase of 13 percentage points over February last year. On the other hand, BYD, which has been deeply involved in the field of new energy for many years, has entered a bumper harvest moment, and many of its models have ushered in a double growth in sales and word of mouth with excellent quality and product strength.
One of the most representative is BYD's flagship sedan, the Han. The data shows that BYD Han's sales in March exceeded 10,000 again, reaching 12,359 vehicles, an increase of 33% month-on-month. Among them, Han EV bicycle sales exceeded 10,000 units, reaching 10,178 units; Han DM sales increased by 524.9% month-on-month. As of March 2022, the bydirhan family's cumulative sales have exceeded 190,000 vehicles. At the same time, in the medium and large car market, its popularity and sales are not inferior to the joint venture and luxury brand medium and large cars represented by Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series and Audi A6L. It also breaks the monopoly pattern of foreign brands for the medium and large automobile market and becomes a veritable light of domestic products.
The world's first car company to officially announce the discontinuation of fuel vehicles
Although many traditional car companies have announced plans to discontinue fuel vehicles in the future, including Volvo, Jaguar, Volkswagen, Audi, Ford, Honda and so on. But the first car company in the world to officially announce the suspension of fuel vehicles is BYD. There are profound market considerations and strategic implications behind this.
The first is that "achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" has become a global consensus, and the environmental protection policies and emission policies in the later period are bound to become more and more stringent. As a pioneer and leader in the domestic new energy vehicle market, BYD's suspension of fuel vehicles is a strategic layout and a manifestation of social responsibility, leading the transformation of the automotive industry with the driving force of scientific and technological innovation.
Second, from the perspective of the market and users, fossil fuels are in short supply, oil prices continue to rise, the cost of fuel vehicles is high, and more and more consumers will turn to new energy models. BYD's suspension of fuel vehicles at this time will help to concentrate resources and energy on the research and development of new energy technologies and products on the one hand, and on the other hand, it will also consolidate its position as a "leader in new energy vehicles".
Third, for more than 100 years, fuel vehicles have created a glorious history, and there are many legendary and epoch-making products. However, it is undeniable that the innovation and practice of new energy technology in recent years have brought about a "more enjoyable, cooler and more extreme" car and travel experience. With its outstanding performance in intelligence, comfort, entertainment and car cost, new energy vehicles have become the first choice for more and more consumers. The times need new energy vehicles, and users also need a new experience.
Fourth, with the introduction of many policies to encourage new energy vehicles, the acceleration of new energy infrastructure and hardware construction, and the continuous efforts of many car companies in the new energy market, the domestic new energy vehicle market has expanded rapidly. The data shows that the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the market has soared from 6% at the beginning of 2021 to 22% at the end of 2021, and it is expected to increase to 28% in the first quarter of this year, and even reach 35% by the end of the year. New energy vehicles will soon become a reality in thousands of households. BYD stops production of fuel vehicles, vigorously develop new energy vehicles can quickly occupy the market highlands, when users want to buy new energy models, BYD must be one of its alternative options, becoming a veritable domestic "new energy brother".
Fifth, BYD has created a strong new energy product matrix: in addition to the BYD-Han family mentioned above, BYD also has many new energy models with good sales and reputation, including the BYD-Didang family, BYD-Song family, BYD-Qin family, ANDD-Yuan family. At the same time, BYD has also begun to lay out the Ocean series of models, of which BYD Dolphin, BYD Destroyer 05 has been listed, BYD Seal and a series of new models will also appear, and its later market performance will have a lot of points to see. BYD's suspension of fuel vehicles is not only a strategic choice, but also an experience of strength. They have the confidence and the strength to create greater achievements in the field of new energy.
Summary: We should be glad that there is such a strong and courageous car company in China. On the one hand, they actively develop and innovate to create high-quality and high-value automotive products for us, on the other hand, they strive to assume social responsibility, launch domestic auto industry progress and innovation, so that domestic brands continue to grow, and have the strength to break the wrist in competition with overseas brands. The final benefit is still our majority of consumers.