(Yicai) Jan. 12 -- Chinese new energy vehicle giant BYD has released a new batch of automotive products, including a new brand targeting the business-to-business market.

The Linghui brand features a total of four new vehicle models, of which three are pure electric sedans, and one is a plug-in hybrid multi-purpose vehicle, according to a recent announcement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Linghui mainly targets the B2B market for bulk procurement needs, integrating BYD’s original electric models with an independent operating channel, Yicai learned. The carmaker registered the Linghui trademark in 2010.

BYD sold over 4.6 million NEVs last year, up 7.7 percent from the previous year. Among them, 3.4 million were cars under the Dynasty and Ocean brands targeting the mainstream market, and about 180,000 units were of its high-end Denza marque.

GAC Group’s NEV brand GAC Aion also made a similar strategic move last year. To improve the public perception of its brand associated with ride-hailing services, GAC Aion launched a dedicated marque for the B2B market to fully separate the B2B and business-to-consumer markets, introducing specific models tailored for each, with separate operating channels.

One of this year’s key trends in the Chinese automotive market will be the acceleration towards higher-end options, according to the latest report by Citic Securities. Even though there is a substantial supply across various price segments, and competition will remain intense, leading automakers that excel in high-end offerings are expected to achieve higher marginal profits this year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione