BYD 'may join' Fortune 500

Carmaker's 2015 sales topped $12b thanks to boom in new-energy vehicle sector

BYD Co Ltd, a major Chinese new-energy vehicle manufacturer, is likely to join the ranks of Global Fortune 500 companies in 2017 as the carmaker has grown rapidly amid the country's booming green automobile sector, according to a top executive of the company.

"A new era has come for Chinese homegrown vehicle makers, especially in the new-energy sector," said Wang Chuanfu, chairman and chief executive officer of BYD.