(Yicai) Jan. 2 -- BYD, which is expected to topple Tesla as the world's largest electric carmaker, will give CNY2 billion (USD282.1 million) to reward dealers after reaching its annual target of three million cars sold last year, Yicai learned from various sources.

The Chinese seller of new energy vehicles will give CNY666 (USD94) per car sold at brick-and-mortar stores that managed to achieve their goals last year, sources said, adding that alternatively, the Shenzhen-based company could award dealers based on the ratio of fulfilled goals. Most stores nationwide reached their targets, they added. Besides the alleged rewards, BYD issued bonuses to its staff in September.

BYD said yesterday that sales of passenger vehicles surged by 45 percent to 340,000 units last month from a year ago so for the whole year, sales jumped by 62 percent to three million units.

The manufacturer turned up the heat on rivals in late-year price wars as it launched a limited-time offer on certain models led by Qin and Han in its Dynasty series with a maximum discount of CNY20,000 (USD2,800).

BYD had over 2,800 dealers as of December 2022, exceeding the respective numbers of Toyota Motor and Volkswagen, according to research notes from brokerage Guotai Junan.

In the first three quarters of last year, BYD's net profit more than doubled to CNY21.4 billion (USD3 billion) from a year ago. In the quarter ended Sept. 30, such gains soared by 82 percent to CNY10.4 billion year-over-year.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Emmi Laine