(Bloomberg) -- BYD Co. kicked off the final quarter of 2024 with another record month of sales, continuing its strong performance in what is typically a peak season for car purchases in China.

China’s No. 1 automaker, which makes only pure-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, sold 500,526 units in October, data released Friday show. Hybrid sales were the top performer last month with 310,912 deliveries. Some of BYD’s newer hybrid models’ upgraded powertrains now allow for more than 2,000 kilometers of range.

BYD wasn’t alone in hitting monthly records. Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. did too, selling 226,686 vehicles last month, up 28% year-on-year. Smaller Chinese EV upstart Xpeng Inc. also reached a fresh high with 23,917 deliveries.

Li Auto Inc., whose Hong Kong-listed stock plunged almost 10% Friday after softer fourth-quarter guidance, sold 51,443 units, still up 27% from October 2023 but shy of a monthly record. Nio Inc. sales slipped month-on-month.

Shenzhen-based BYD notched up another milestone last month when it reported revenue for the third quarter that surpassed Tesla Inc.

The carmaker’s revenue soared 24% to 201.1 billion yuan ($28.2 billion) for the three months that ended in September, falling short of estimates but exceeding Tesla’s $25.2 billion in sales for the same period. Net income increased 11.5% to a record 11.6 billion yuan, beating estimates.

The last three months of any year are usually the peak purchasing season in China and EV and hybrid vehicle sales are rising fueled by expanded national and local subsidies that encourage consumers to trade in older cars.

BYD is also on track to meet its revised annual sales target of 4 million vehicles, having sold around 2.74 million vehicles through September. Citibank Inc. estimates BYD could sell as many as 500,000 units per month by November.

--With assistance from Philip Glamann.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.