A visitor to the BYD booth looks at an engine at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition on April 18, 2023. Photo: VCG

Chinese carmaker BYD ranked among the top 10 auto companies globally for the first time, with vehicle sales in the first six months this year exceeding Mercedes-Benz and BMW, data showed. 

BYD on Monday released its first-half-year report, which showed 260.12 billion yuan ($35.66 billion) of revenues, up 72.72 percent. Revenue from auto-making and related businesses reached 208.82 billion yuan, up 91.1 percent year-on-year.

The company invested 14.25 billion yuan in research and development (R&D), up 120.2 year-on-year and surpassing its net profit for the period.

Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), told the Global Times on Tuesday that BYD's progress is attributed to the company's huge investment in products innovation and its fairly developed industrial chain.  

BYD said that the progress was due to the company's rapid growth in the new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector. The company's report cited data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, showing BYD's market share in domestic NEV market stood at 33.5 percent as of the end of June.

The strong boost from the NEV business paved the way for BYD to enter the top 10 global sales list in the first half this year, with a total of 1.25 million vehicles sold, the Nikkei Asia reported, citing data from research company MarkLines.

BYD ranked 16th in sales in 2022 and did not even make the top 20 in 2021, according to the report. 

China's auto industry continued recovery in July, with total sales accounting for 33 percent of the global total, data from the CPCA showed on Tuesday.

First-half-year sales of China-produced NEVs hit 3.65 million, up 48 percent year-on-year, accounting for more than 60 percent of the global market.

Experts said the strong momentum will likely extend to the rest of the year, and China may become the largest auto exporter this year, outpacing Japan.

July is usually a low point for car sales in China, but this year, many Chinese NEV makers defied expectations with record-high deliveries. 

In the NEV wholesale market in July, BYD led with 261,105 vehicles, followed by Tesla with 64,285, GAC Aion with 45,025 and Geely with 41,014, the CPCA's figures showed.

Business insiders said vehicle sales will get another boost in September and October, as at least 10 domestic NEV brands are offering price cuts and other incentives.

"Brands' promotions are within the normal range, and the discounts they offer are unlikely to trigger a new price war in the NEV market," said Cui.