This photo from Dec. 2019 shows robotic arms spray painting a automotive body shell on the BYD Automobile Company Limited Xi’an plant. BYD is about to provide Tesla with batteries “very soon,” a senior company executive told a Chinese state media anchor.
Yuan Jingzhi | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Shares of electrical vehicle maker BYD jumped in Wednesday morning trade after a senior executive said during an interview with Chinese state media that the corporate is about to provide batteries to Tesla “very soon.”
“We’re now good friends also with Elon Musk, because we’re preparing to provide batteries to [Tesla] very soon,” BYD Vice President Lian Yubo said during an interview with Chinese state media anchor Kate Kui.
Rechargeable batteries and photovoltaic (the conversion of sunshine from the sun to electricity) made up 7.29% of BYD’s revenue pool in 2021, dwarfed by the greater than 50% share taken up by automobiles and related products, in response to the corporate’s latest annual report.
Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD jumped 2.65%, mirroring broader positive sentiment in tech because the Hang Seng Tech index advanced 2.84%. Shares of other Chinese EV makers in Hong Kong also rose, with Nio up 4.68% while Xpeng surged 5.32%.
Mainland-listed shares of Chinese battery maker and Tesla supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology, nonetheless, tumbled greater than 6% following the comments. CATL had roughly 25% of world EV battery market share in 2020, far ahead of BYD’s 7%, in response to Nomura research.
Elsewhere in Asia, shares of Panasonic in Japan dipped around 0.8% while South Korea’s LG Energy Solution dropped 1.39%. Each firms also supply batteries to Tesla.
— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.
