BYD’s New Budget Model Flies Out the Door as Sales Close In on Tesla

BYD Co. Ltd. (002594.SH/01211.HK), the world’s second-biggest maker of new energy vehicles (NEVs), has sold more of its new budget electric-powered car in China in the week since it launched than No. 1 Tesla sold there for all of January, as its low-price strategy further cements its rising dominance.

Sales of the Qin Plus DM-i Champion Edition passed 32,000 on Feb. 17, more than half the figure for its top-selling Song range of 49,709 units for last month, according to a Wednesday post on BYD's official Weibo account. Tesla by comparison sold 26,843 cars in January, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).