BYD one of the first brands to stop producing pure ICE vehicles

Chinese car manufacturer BYD, one of the largest car brands on the planet, has announced that it has officially stopped producing pure internal combustion engine vehicles and HEVs as of last month.

The carmaker confirmed the news via a statement issued to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange over the weekend, explaining that it now only produces electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids (the latter still admittedly making use of small ICE units).

“In the future, BYD will focus on pure electric and plug-in hybrids in the automobile sector,” said the company’s statement.

The brand moved to give those who own ICE-powered BYDs of the past comfort by underlining that it will continue to offer service and parts support for those models into the future.

While a large proportion of carmakers have announced plans to scrap the sale of pure combustion vehicles, most won’t be implementing these changes until the end of the decade. And, in some cases, those changes are specific to certain continents.

March was a significant month for BYD. It sold 104,878 plug-ins in China; roughly a 400% year-on-year growth relative to March 2021 and setting a new internal sales benchmark. The figures were almost a perfect 50/50 split between EV sales and PHEV sales.

These figures were released as part of a wider financial update, with BYD confirming that its profits had fallen by 28% year-on-year. It credited this change to the brand’s shift in product focus and subsequent investment in new technologies. Overall sales were up by 37%, and auto revenue was up 33.8%.  

March also saw BYD ink a strategic cooperation agreement with Shell. The partnership will see the two brands create a mobility service provider in Europe, with the duo also set to develop new charging and fleet solutions together.

Details around BYD’s planned entry to the New Zealand market are still seemingly up in the air, with the brand’s Australasian distributor Nexport yet to announce which models will be offered in New Zealand and when.

The BYD Atto 3 (an electric compact crossover) has been confirmed as the first model to be offered in Australia starting from July 2022. The brand has indicated it aims to sell around 18,000 Atto 3s in Australia per year. Expect the same model to be announced for the New Zealand market in the coming months.