BYD has officially started production at a new vehicle production site that begins contributing to the capacity of China's largest maker of new energy vehicles.

The production site, located in Zhengzhou, Henan province in central China, saw its first production vehicle roll off the line on April 6.

Currently in production is the first phase of the Zhengzhou base, which covers an area of 4,101 mu and has a planned annual production capacity of 400,000 vehicles.

The production base will have phase II and phase III projects, and the total production capacity will exceed 1 million units after completion.

The first mass-produced vehicle to roll off the line from BYD's Zhengzhou base is a Song Pro DM-i, which has a guide price range of RMB 140,800 - 165,800 yuan.

The production base is expected to help BYD achieve its goal of selling at least 3 million vehicles this year. BYD aims to sell at least 3 million vehicles this year and will strive to reach 3.6 million.

BYD sold 1,868,543 vehicles in 2022, including 1,863,494 NEVs. The company stopped production and sales of vehicles powered entirely by internal combustion engines in March 2022.

If it can reach 3.6 million vehicles in global sales, BYD is expected to be among the top 10 car companies in global auto sales this year.

BYD sold 207,080 NEVs in March, up 97.45 percent from 104,878 units a year earlier and up 6.93 percent from 193,655 units in February, according to data released by the company earlier this month.

In the first quarter, BYD's NEV sales were 552,076 units, up 92.81 percent from 286,329 units in the same period last year, but down 19.22 percent from 683,440 units in the fourth quarter last year.