GUANGZHOU, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Leading Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker BYD sold 26,571 NEVs in June, up from 17,088 in the same period last year, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Friday.
The strong growth was primarily fueled by the sales surge in the pure electric passenger vehicles, soaring from 16,278 units in the same period last year to 25,849 units, it said.
In the first half of this year, BYD's NEV sales totaled 145,653 units, up 94.5 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, the company sold 12,164 gasoline-powered vehicles in June, a decrease from 20,489 in the same period last year. The total sales of gasoline-powered vehicles in the first six months also plunged 44.91 percent year on year.
Bucking the downward trend in the broader Chinese auto market, sales of NEVs soared last year, seeing a 61.74 percent year-on-year growth to 1.26 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.