<article><p class="lead">Chinese automotive manufacturer BYD sold more new energy vehicles (NEVs) in November compared with a month and year earlier, supported by rising sales of its newly launched Han model and growth in the auto market towards the end of the year. </p><p>BYD sold 23,217 NEVs last month, up by 15pc from October and by 137.9pc from November 2019. NEV sales in November accounted for 49.5pc of the company's total vehicle sales of 53,943, up from a 48.6pc share in October. </p><p>Shipments of the Han model reached 10,105 last month, with a total of 28,467 sales since July when it was released, according to BYD. </p><p>The Han is equipped with the blade battery, a type of lithium-iron-phosphate battery pack. The <a href="https://metals.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2151339">blade battery</a> can increase energy density by at least 30pc and reduce raw material costs by 30pc, BYD said.</p><p>China's NEV industry was hit by the Covid-19 outbreak in this year's first quarter. The market began to recover in the second quarter, supported by government stimulus measures to encourage the use and purchases of such vehicles.</p><p>The country's domestic NEV output <a href="https://metals.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2158745">totalled 914,000</a> from January-October, down by 9.2pc from a year earlier, according to data from China's automotive manufacturers association.</p><p>The Chinese government has taken various measures to accelerate NEV adoption in the longer term. China's state council has announced a development plan for the NEV industry during 2021-35, targeting a 20pc share of NEVs in the country's total vehicles sales by 2035.</p><p>Sales of BYD's pure-electric passenger vehicles reached 18,220 units in November, up by 22.1pc from October and by 127.8pc from a year earlier, while November sales of plug-in hybrids passenger vehicles hit 7,333, up by 2.9pc on the month and by 174.1pc on the year. </p><p>BYD sold 160,848 NEVs during January-November, down by 25.7pc from the same period in 2019 as a result of Covid-19-related disruptions, particularly in the first quarter. Sales of pure-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids over the same period were 139,246 and 69,390, respectively, down by 19.9pc and 42.4pc on the year. </p><p>The firm produced 1.94GWh of power and energy storage batteries in November, up by 28.7pc from a month earlier and by 285pc from a year earlier. Its January-November production fell by 9.7pc from a year earlier to 10.531GWh.</p></article>
