BYD Co., China's largest electric car producer, says net profit last year totaled 2.8 billion yuan ($430 million), an increase of 553 percent from the previous year.

 

The company attributed the profit surge to robust sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, in particular the K9 electric bus, the Qin plug-in hybrid sedan and the Tang plug-in hybrid crossover.

 

BYD's financial report did not detail sales of its EVs and plug-in hybrids. But Chairman Wang Chuanfu told Chinese media in January that the company sold a record 61,772 EVs and plug-in hybrids in 2015, more than triple the number delivered a year earlier.

 

In China, only EVs, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell powered vehicles qualify for government subsidies.

 

Wang also told Chinese media that he expects BYD's sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids to double each year over the next three years.

 

BYD produces conventional gasoline-powered vehicles as well as several EV and plug-in hybrid models. The company has yet to disclose its gasoline vehicle sales last year.

 

The company is headquartered in the south China city of Shenzhen and listed in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It is partly owned by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett.