China's BYD Lowers Annual Sales Target by 16%...Sign of Slowing Growth?

Reuters reported on September 4, citing multiple sources, that BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer based in China, has lowered its annual sales target by 16% this year.

Reuters Yonhap News

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Previously, in March, BYD told analysts that its sales target for this year was 5.5 million units, but it has now revised the figure down to 4.6 million units.

Since March, BYD has repeatedly lowered its sales targets, and it is reported that the revised target of 4.6 million units was communicated internally within the company and to some partners last month. Last year, BYD sold 4.3 million units, and at this rate, the company is expected to post its lowest growth rate since 2020. Reuters noted that BYD's new target is even lower than the recently downgraded forecasts from analysts.

As of August this year, BYD's sales performance reached only about 52% of its original target of 5.5 million units. Industry experts point to the strong performance of competitors such as Geely and the fierce price competition within the Chinese market as factors putting pressure on BYD's sales.

In its quarterly earnings announcement last week, BYD reported that its net profit fell by 30% year-on-year, marking the first such decline in three years. Reuters interpreted this as a sign of slowing growth. Amid intense price-cutting competition among numerous manufacturers, a sluggish real estate market has also dampened domestic demand, further limiting BYD's growth momentum.

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