SHANGHAI, Oct 28 (Reuters) - China's biggest electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD said its third-quarter net profit jumped 350% from a year ago, helped by a wider range of product offerings and strong sales that saw it beat Tesla in the world's largest auto market.
BYD's net profit for the July-September quarter reached 5.72 billion yuan ($788.75 million), while that for the first nine months increased 281% to 9.31 billion yuan, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.
The result was in line with a forecast the company published last week.
Having scrapped gasoline vehicles from its product mix this year, BYD has, more than any other automaker, been able to capitalise on a range of incentives for electric cars offered by China's central and local governments.
The company, which is 19% owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, has also been able to significantly reduce costs per vehicle on the back of robust sales and a broader product range than other EV competitors.
BYD's combined sales of pure electric and hybrid plug-in vehicles increased 250% in the first nine months to 1.2 million units, outpacing a 110% rise for the overall EV segment. Tesla sold just over 318,000 electric vehicles in China during the first nine months of the year.
($1 = 7.2520 Chinese yuan renminbi)