Chinese Electric Vehicle Maker BYD's Third-Quarter Profit Drops 27.5%

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD Co Ltd, which is backed by billionaire Warren Buffett, on Thursday reported a 27.5% drop in third-quarter net profit.

BYD made a 1.27 billion yuan ($198.54 million) net profit in the three months to Sept. 30, down from 1.75 billion yuan in the same period last year.

BYD, which has partnerships with Japan's top automaker Toyota and Germany's Daimler in China, said operating income grew 22% to 54.31 billion yuan.

The Shenzhen-based car company, which rolled out a customised EV model for ride-hailing services with China's Didi last year, sold 452,744 vehicles in the first nine months this year, 63% higher from a year earlier, thanks to popular plug-in hybrid vehicles.