Shell (China) Ltd. was recently added as a shareholder to BYD EV Investment Company, with a stake of 80%, according to publicly disclosed information. The shareholding ratio of BYD Auto Industry Company to BYD EV Investment Company was changed from 60% to 20%, making BYD EV Investment a jointly owned company by Shell and BYD, with Shell taking the majority stake.

The Shenzhen BYD EV Investment Company was established in June 2014 with a registered capital of 300 million RMB, and its business scope includes investment in new energy electric vehicle industry; investment in charging piles and charging stations; technology development for urban construction; operation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging facilities, etc.

The move is seen as a part of BYD and Shell’s strategic cooperation, which the two signed in March this year. According to the strategic cooperation agreement, the partnership will “improve charging experience for BYD’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) customers” and “start in China and Europe and will extend to other regions across the globe.”

BYD sales have been surging since it announced in April that it would cease production of fuel vehicles. According to data from China Passenger Car Association, domestic sales of passenger cars in November 2022 were 1.649 million units, down 9.2% year-on-year.

Despite the general decline, BYD sales were still able to rise 125.1% year-on-year to 217,600 units, surpassing the combined total of FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC-Volkswagen, and once again becoming the top-selling passenger car in China with a market share of 13.2%. By the end of November, BYD's cumulative sales in the first 11 months rose 220.9% year-on-year to 1,576,300 units, completing an annual sales target of 1.5 million units ahead of schedule.