BYD posts record 4Q sales to challenge Tesla

Making progress: A monitor shows the power status in a BYD ‘Qin’ vehicle in Hefei, China. The company is continuing its aggressive global expansion plans by choosing Hungary to establish a production line in Europe. — Bloomberg

SHANGHAI: Chinese automaker BYD Co sold 526,409 fully electric vehicles (EVs) in the fourth quarter, meaning Tesla Inc will need a record showing to maintain its No. 1 status when it unveils its sales figures today.

China’s best-selling car brand reported EV and hybrid sales of 340,178 in December, including 190,754 all-electric cars, aided by aggressive end of the year discounting, according to an exchange filing yesterday.