Shanghai (Gasgoo)-On August 11, BYD forged a strategic partnership with Ansteel Group Corporation Limited (Ansteel), a Chinese state-owned steel maker, to cooperate on the technical R&D of NEV-related lightweight and reinforcement, and the development and application of environment-friendly and new materials, according to a posting on Ansteel's WeChat account.

(Photo source: Ansteel's WeChat account)

Besides, both parties are ready to team up on the development of monorail technology, the engineering construction, the corporation management, and the supply of PV-used steel.

As one of important partners of Ansteel, BYD is a high-tech enterprise with a line of businesses covering such areas as electronics, automobiles, new energy and rail transit, said the steel manufacturer.

In accordance with the strategic agreement, two companies will conduct in-depth collaboration on such fields as the supply of auto-related materials, the R&D and application of new materials and new technologies, the complete vehicle development, the localized material supply based on multiple bases as well as the intelligent manufacturing and engineering projects.

In July, BYD's automobile business gained this year's first-time year-on-year sales increase by selling 31,382 vehicles in total.

The NEV sales volume amounted to 15,100 units in July, sliding 8.85% over the year-ago period. It was rather a big rebound as BYD’s NEV sales had been showing plunge of over 45% for ten straight months.

Notably, in the new energy PV sector, the BEV branch witnessed its July sales evidently grow 9.95% to 10,462 units, terminating the 10-consecutive-month downturn. The increase may owe much to the relatively low year-ago base number resulting from the NEV subsidy phase-out and the launch of BYD's flagship Han EV.