SHENZHEN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- BYD, China's leading new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer, reported a year-on-year 632 percent increase in net profit for the first quarter of 2019 on booming NEV sales.

In a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, BYD said it made a net profit of 749.7 million yuan (111.4 million U.S. dollars) in the January-March period.

Revenue grew 22.5 percent year on year to 30.3 billion yuan.

BYD said it is expecting a net profit of 1.45 billion yuan to 1.65 billion yuan in the first half of the year, an annual increase of 202.7 to 244.4 percent, on projected strong NEV sales in the Q2.

BYD sold 73,172 NEVs in the Q1 of 2019, up 146.9 percent. The strong growth was primarily fueled by the sales surge in the pure electric passenger vehicles, soaring 755.8 percent to 45,487 units.

Despite sluggish sales for gasoline-powered vehicles, the NEV market has experienced a boom in China.

During Q1, China's NEV production and sales amounted to 304,000 units and 299,000 units respectively, up 102.7 percent and 109.7 percent year on year.

Sales of pure electric vehicles rose 121.4 percent in the period to 227,000 units, and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 79.1 percent to 72,000 units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.