Leading Chinese electric car maker BYD’s vehicle sales surged in 2024, the company said in a statement, as the firm grows its overseas presence.

The EV and battery giant is the most prominent of Chinese automotive firms expanding abroad – plans that are increasingly threatened by thorny trade disputes between Beijing and the West.

BYD sold 4,272,145 vehicles last year, up 41.3 percent from 2023’s 3,024,417 units, the company said Wednesday.

In December alone, BYD sold 57,154 vehicles outside of China – a 58.3 percent jump from the same period in 2023. But BYD still sold almost 90 percent of its cars in its home market in December 2024.