Chinese auto giant BYD Co., Ltd. continued to outpace Tesla Motors in the first quarter, reporting a doubling in net profit on robust growth in its electric-vehicle business.

The Chinese EV maker said Friday that its net profit surged to 9.15 billion yuan, equivalent to $1.26 billion, from 4.57 billion yuan a year earlier. That compared with the company’s guidance of between 8.5 billion yuan and 10 billion yuan, and stood in contrast with Tesla’s own first-quarter results that showed declines in profit and global sales.

Healthy demand for BYD’s cars in China and overseas drove its revenue 36% higher to 170.36 billion yuan. The company attributed the stronger revenue to the growth of its new-energy-vehicle business, a term in China that refers to fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids.

The Chinese automaker sold more battery EVs than Tesla in the first three months of the year, keeping its crown as the world’s top EV seller. Total sales, including hybrids, skyrocketed 60% to 1.0 million units.

Analysts see scope for BYD to keep its edge in the EV market, helped by continued investment in autonomous-driving technology and a wide range of models. The company’s research-and-development expenses rose 34% to 14.22 billion yuan in the first quarter, which it said was due to higher employee remuneration and material consumption.

BYD in February said it planned to include its “God’s Eye” system in all mass-market cars, igniting competition among Chinese automakers to roll out affordable autonomous-driving features.

Looking ahead, BYD appears relatively insulated from the U.S. tariffs on the auto sector, having long prioritized other international markets over the U.S.

Citing a meeting with management, Citi analysts said BYD is confident about hitting its 800,000-unit export target for 2025, seeing limited impact from U.S. tariffs and stronger growth in Europe and South America.