BYD Co.’s net income in the first quarter jumped to 9.15 billion yuan ($1.3 billion), overtaking Tesla Inc. on another key metric and signaling a robust start to the year for China’s no. 1 selling car brand.
Shenzhen-based BYD’s net income was higher than the 8.1 billion yuan projected by analysts. While the carmaker’s sales of 170.36 billion yuan for the three months ended March 31 were up 36% year-on-year, they fell short of analyst expectations. Tesla reported net income of $409 million for its first quarter earlier this week, much lower than what the market had been looking for.
