BYD’s second-generation QIN (pronounced “cheen”) has set a second record month of sales in February. Trends in March now make it “China’s Best-Selling Electric Vehicle” according to China’s National Passenger Car Association.

After its launch this past December, the dual-mode, plug-in hybrid saloon has been selling at a brisk pace, so much that BYD claims it has had trouble meeting demand.

In the first weeks of 2014, more than 6,000 vehicles were sold accounting for over half (50%) of the Chinese new-energy vehicle market.

Analysts are not expecting sales to slow down any time soon as both Shanghai and Beijing announced earlier this month that they will now permit BYD new energy vehicles to qualify for local municipality green-vehicle incentives and be licensed in those regions. These signals along with the Chinese government’s new fund committed for clean-air and fuel-efficient technologies in the form of consumer and government purchasing incentives are launching a new era in the China domestic car industry.

BYD claims the QIN consumes 1.6 litres of fuel for every 62 miles and manages 60 mph in 5.9 seconds. The model is the first of several of BYD electric vehicles launching as the electric version of the S7-styled SUV, internally named the Tang (pronounced “Tah-ng”), is set to be released later this year.

Although the QIN model is currently only available to domestic Chinese and Latin American markets, senior officials at BYD say they are considering exporting the brand’s electric vehicles to other countries in the next few years.

Source: BYD

Tags: BYD, China, EV, Hybrid Electric Vehicle, PEV, Qin, sales, Stella Li