(Yicai) April 3 -- Geely Automobile Holdings beat BYD and regained the title of best-selling Chinese carmaker in the first quarter of the year, despite the latter putting on an impressive performance in March.

Geely Auto sold about 709,000 cars in the three months ended March 31, followed closely by BYD with around 700,000 units sold, 300,000 of which in March alone. The gap between the two is just over one day's worth of sales.

In 2017, Geely Auto overtook Changan Automobile as the top-selling Chinese auto brand and held onto that position until 2021. With the rising popularity of new energy vehicles, BYD surpassed Geely Auto for the first time in 2022 and remained at the top until last year, when it sold nearly 1.6 million cars more than its runner-up.

Electric vehicles accounted for 52 percent of Geely Auto's total sales in the first quarter, thanks to its multi-brand capabilities. BYD, which has been relying solely on the NEV market since 2022, has been strong on exports, as it sold nearly 46 percent of its cars abroad in the period.

SAIC Motor's self-owned brands are also catching up, with sales of 657,000 vehicles in the first quarter, ranking third. Last month alone, the Shanghai-based automaker delivered 256,000 units, positioning itself second behind BYD and ahead of Geely Auto.

Fourth-ranked Chery Auto sold 566,000 cars in the first quarter, with NEVs accounting for less than 26 percent of the total. It exported 380,000 units in the period, ranking first among domestic peers. Sixty-seven percent of them were NEVs.

Editor: Futura Costaglione