The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that sales of electric vehicles in China rose 10.5 per cent in March from the same month a year earlier, industry data show, as automakers led by popular BYD deepened discounts and offered financing tools to boost sales. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that for January to March, sales totalled 1.03 million EVs, up 14.7 per cent on year and the slowest quarterly growth since the second quarter of 2023. New energy vehicles (NEV) including all-electric models and plug-in hybrids made up 41.5 per cent of overall passenger car sales in March, which jumped 5.7 per cent to 1.71 million vehicles. Authorities have joined automakers in trying to convince consumers to buy cars to help jumpstart a sluggish economy. BYD, which ceded the top EV seller title to U.S. peer Tesla in the first quarter, in March lowered starting prices for nine models including four under its premium brand Denza by 4 per cent to as much as 20.5 per cent. BYD is forecasting lower profit margins this year as the price war intensifies. Tesla hiked Model Y prices in China by 5,000 yuan ($938), but also offered a time-limited zero-interest financing scheme for buyers of the base Model 3 model.