BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD logged a record 777.1 billion yuan ($107 billion) in revenue last year as its sales of battery electric and hybrid vehicles jumped 40%.
The report late Monday coincided with BYD’s launch earlier this week of its Qin L EV sedan, a mid-sized model similar to Tesla's Model 3 but at just over half the price. Tesla’s 2024 revenue was nearly $97.7 billion.
BYD’s net profit last year was about 40 billion yuan ($5.6 billion), up 34% from the year before.
Last week, the company announced it was rolling out a super fast EV charging system that it says is nearly as quick as a fill up at the pumps.
BYD’s Hong Kong-traded shares fell 3.2% on Tuesday, despite its upbeat earnings report.
The lion's share, nearly 80%, of BYD's sales last year were related to its automotive businesses. BYD reported it sold about 4.3 million pure electric and hybrid vehicles last year.
Nearly 29% of the company's sales were in markets outside Greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, last year, up slightly from 27% the year before.
The automaker has rapidly expanded its exports, though it has yet to try to sell in the U.S., where U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to raise tariffs on car imports. BYD faces a 17% tariff on exports of EVs to the European Union.
FILE - A display shows how the dual-mode electric S6DM sport utility vehicle from Chinese automaker BYD can be plugged into a charging station to recharge its onboard batteries, at the North American International Auto Show on Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Tony Ding, File)
FILE - Visitors check the China made BYD ATTO 3 at the IAA motor show in Munich, Germany, on Sept. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
The Hamas militant group said it would release the last living American-Israeli hostage held in Gaza on Monday as an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in the Gaza Strip killed about 16 people in the embattled enclave, mostly women and children.
At least five children and four women were among those killed in the strike on a school in the Jabaliya area, the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service said, adding that a number of people were wounded.
The Israeli military blames civilian deaths on Hamas, saying its fighters operate in densely populated areas. There was no immediate comment on the latest strike.
The attack came as U.S. President Donald Trump heads to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week.
After ending a ceasefire two months ago, Israel has intensified the war in the Gaza Strip, where its 10-week blockade on food, medicine and other supplies is worsening a humanitarian crisis.
Here is the latest:
Dani Miran, the father of hostage Omri Miran, said he was happy for Edan Alexander’s expected release but “very sad that families of hostages need foreign passports to release their loved ones.” He said, “Does this country not know how to protect our citizens?”
Other relatives also expressed frustration over Israel’s failure to secure the release of their loved ones.
“We do not trust our government,” said Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen. “We need you, we need the United States, we need President Trump, we need special envoy Steve Witkoff to finish the job and free all the hostages.”
Einav Zangauker said her son, Matan, was held together with Edan Alexander and her “heart breaks from the knowledge that he will languish alone in captivity.”
Addressing Trump in English, she said, “Mr. President, sir, all of the Israeli people are behind you. End this war! Bring them all home!”
Food security experts said on Monday the Gaza Strip is at critical risk of famine if Israel doesn’t lift its blockade and stop its military campaign.
Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises, said outright famine is the most likely scenario unless conditions change.
Nearly half a million Palestinians are in “catastrophic” levels of hunger, meaning they face possible starvation, the report said, while another million are at “emergency” levels of hunger.
The Palestinian Health Ministry also said Monday hospitals received 94 wounded. The dead included four bodies that were recovered from under the rubble, it said.
The death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has now reached 52,862, the ministry said, while 119,648 have been wounded.
It said the tally includes 2,749 dead and 7,607 wounded since Israel resumed the war in March, shattering a nearly 2-month ceasefire.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says more than half of the dead were women and children.
Israel has filed a request with the International Criminal Court to have arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, revoked after an appeal last month ordered a pretrial panel to reconsider jurisdiction but did not suspend the warrants.
In a filing made public over the weekend.
Israel says the court did not have the legal authority to issue arrest warrants in November.
The warrants allege that Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for crimes against humanity in the Gaza war. Israel, which is not a member of the court and rejects its jurisdiction, strongly refutes the allegations.
Hamas says it will release Edan Alexander on Monday.
Alexander, an Israeli soldier, was taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023.
Edan Alexander’s family said in a statement that it “received the greatest gift imaginable — news that our beautiful son Edan is returning home after 583 days in captivity in Gaza.”
Alexander’s parents, who live in the United States, were making their way to Israel ahead of the expected release.
The family said it was deeply grateful to Trump and his administration for their efforts to secure Edan's release.
It also urged the Israeli government to continue efforts to free all the hostages. “Please don’t stop. We hope our son’s release begins negotiations for all 58 remaining hostages, ending this nightmare for them and their families.”
The relatives of Israeli hostages welcomed the imminent release of the American-Israeli hostage, but there is also unease.
Some said Alexander was singled out for freedom because of his American citizenship and said they were worried about the fate of the other 23 living and roughly 35 dead captives who remain in Gaza.
“Trump is rescuing him. Who will rescue Gali and Ziv?” Maccabit Mayer, the aunt of sibling hostages Gali and Ziv Berman, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday. She said she was sorry the twin brothers don't have “the right citizenship.”
Also, some of the relatives accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not doing enough to free their loved ones, saying his insistence on continuing the war in Gaza is politically motivated.
Hamas says the last living American hostage in Gaza will be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume aid delivery to the battered enclave.
Two Hamas officials have told The Associated Press they expect the release of Edan Alexander in the next 48 hours.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed in a message to the AP that Hamas has agreed to release Alexander as a goodwill gesture toward Trump.
Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the United States.
Hospital patients are among the most vulnerable as Palestinians across Gaza struggle to feed themselves.
Israel’s blockade on food and other supplies entering the territory is now in its third month and hospitals are unable to provide food. Families must bring whatever they can find to help loved ones recover and doctors say patients have lost weight in recent weeks.
Aid groups say malnutrition is on the rise across Gaza. Food distributions have ended and charity kitchens are rapidly closing. Markets are empty of almost everything but canned goods and small amounts of vegetables, and prices have been rising.
A Palestinian girl struggles to obtain donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Ward Nar, left, reacts as she speaks with the photographer after returning empty-handed from attempting to receive donated food for her family, including her husband Mohammed Zaharna (center right) and their children, Sally (right) and Raed, at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians struggle to obtain donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
