This photo is from December. 2019 shows robotic arms spraying car body cover at BYD Automobile Company Limited Xi’an factory. BYD is set to supply batteries to Tesla “very soon,” a senior company executive told a Chinese broadcaster.
Yuan Jingzhi | China Optical Group | Getty Images
Shares of electric car maker BYD jumped in early trading Wednesday after a top executive said during an interview with Chinese state media that the company plans to supply batteries to Tesla “very soon.”
“Now we are also good friends with Elon Musk, because we are preparing to supply the batteries [Tesla] “Very soon,” BYD Vice President Lian Yubo said during an interview with Chinese state broadcaster Kit Kui.
Rechargeable batteries and photovoltaics (the conversion of light from sunlight into electricity) made up 7.29% of BYD’s total revenue in 2021, dwindling by more than 50% of the share of automobiles and related products, according to the company’s latest annual report.
Hong Kong-listed BYD shares jumped 2.65%, reflecting the broader positive sentiment in technology with Hang Seng Tech advancing 2.84%. Shares of other Chinese electric car makers were also higher in Hong Kong, with Nio up 4.68% and Xpeng up 5.32%.
However, mainland-listed shares of the Chinese battery maker and supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology, tumbled more than 6% after the comments. CATL captured nearly 25% of the global electric car battery market share in 2020, well ahead of BYD at 7%, according to Nomura research.
Elsewhere in Asia, Panasonic shares in Japan tumbled 0.8% while LG Energy Solution in South Korea slid 1.39%. Both companies also supply batteries to Tesla.
CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.