Workers work on the assembly line at a factory of vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, February 25, 2020. File Photo: Xinhua

Chinese automaker BYD saw its first-half net profit triple the number last year, according to the new-energy vehicle (NEV) champion's financial report on Monday, in a fresh sign of the country's NEV prowess.

BYD recorded 3.6 billion yuan ($521.26 million) in earnings in the first half of the year, a surge of 206.35 percent year-on-year. The Monday figures hit the top end of its previous forecast in mid-July.

BYD accounted for 24.7 percent of the country's NEV sales in the first half, with its market share increasing 7.5 percentage points from the previous year, according to the company's filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Monday, citing data from the China Association of Automotive Manufacturers.

BYD sat atop the domestic NEV sales rankings and once again topped the global NEV sales list to spearhead the rise of China's homegrown NEV brands, the Shenzhen-based automaker said.

The Warren Buffett-backed Chinese carmaker dethroned US electric vehicle giant Tesla as the top NEV brand in the first six months.

BYD sold more than 640,000 vehicles in the first half, a surge of 314.9 percent year-on-year, while Tesla delivered just over 560,000 vehicles globally during the period, according to media reports.

BYD was the world's first automaker to bid farewell to production of fossil fuel-powered vehicles in March.

The company's rise to global prominence mirrors the country's growing dominance in the global NEV sphere.

In a posting on his public WeChat account on Monday, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association, revealed that China's share of global NEV sales rose to 68 percent in July.

In the first seven months, the country accounted for 60.6 percent of worldwide passenger NEV sales, according to Cui.

The stellar numbers came on the back of the country's strong push for NEV sales as part of wide-ranging efforts to prop up the Chinese economy.