BYD, the world’s leading manufacturer of new energy vehicles and power batteries, has announced that it has achieved a historic milestone of producing 5 million new energy vehicles (NEV). In China, the term NEV is used to designate EV, PHEV, and FCEV. During the ceremony that was held to commemorate the numbers, BYD announced that it is the world’s first automaker to reach such a milestone.

It took BYD 13 years to produce 1 million NEVs since the launch of BYD F3 DM in 2008 to May 2021. It took BYD a year to reach the 2 million NEVs threshold after passing the 1 million mark. Just six months later, BYD crossed the 3 million mark on November 16, 2022. And now, just nine months later, BYD has hit the five million mark.

The 5 millionth car is a Denza N7 electric SUV. Denza is a BYD sub-brand that focuses on premium electric vehicles. It was established as a 50-50 venture in 2011 by BYD and Mercedes-Benz. However, Mercedes exited the JV in December 2021, keeping only a 10% stake in it. Denzas are currently the only non-BYD badged cars on sale from BYD Group.

In 2022, BYD’s new energy vehicles saw remarkable growth, with total sales surpassing 1.86 million. The momentum continued in 2023, as the company reached an impressive cumulative sales volume of 1.5 million units from January to July, including a notable 92,469 units sold overseas which exceeded the total overseas sales for the entire year of 2022.

Wang Chuanfu, CEO and founder of BYD said during the ceremony: “China has become a world power of NEVs. In the first half of this year, NEV penetration in China reached 32.5%. It is estimated that the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China will reach 60% in 2025, and the market share of Chinese brands on the Chinese market will reach 70% in 2025.”

BYD’s new energy vehicles have now made a mark in over 54 countries including Nepal, with the BYD Atto 3, one of its standout models, leading NEV sales in Thailand, Israel, and Singapore for several months.

Cimex Inc, the sole authorised distributor for BYD Auto in Nepal, offers the BYD Atto 3 and second-gen BYD e6 in the Nepalese market. The Atto 3 electric SUV is available in two battery pack options (49.94 kWh and 60.48 kWh) in a total of four variants.  The Atto 3 starts at Rs 55.99 Lakh for the advanced variant and goes up to Rs 81.99 Lakh for the performance variant. Similarly, the second-gen e6 which features a 71.7 kWh battery pack is priced at Rs 59 Lakh.