Newscasts - BYD slashes sales target, hinting growth is cooling: sources
04/09/2025 08:41
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_2gx8naj6&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_RW201504092025RP1_930&pageId=Newscasts Source: 'Reuters - Business videos' Description: BYD has slashed its sales target for this year by as much as 16% to 4.6 million vehicles, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as the Chinese EV giant faces its slowest annual growth in five years and other signs that its era of record-setting expansion could be drawing to a close. Julian Satterthwaite reports. Short Link: https://lseg.group/4mLE1ei Video Transcript: BYD's era of white-hot growth could be coming to an end. Reuters sources say the Chinese EV giant has slashed its sales target for the year by up to 16%. The country's largest automaker said in March it was targeting sales of 5.5 million vehicles this year. But the sources say that number has been cut repeatedly since then. They say BYD is now aiming for at least 4.6 million unit sales, with that number still subject to change. The company did not respond to a request for comment on the report. If confirmed, the new target would mark a 7% increase from last year, or the firm's slowest growth since 2020. It comes amid weak domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy. Consumers in China have had their confidence sapped by factors including a deep downturn in the country's housing market. Now BYD's numbers will be closely watched. The firm has transformed from an EV upstart to one of the world's most important automakers in a few short years. Its sales of electric cars and plug-in hybrids grew 10-fold between 2020 and 2024, putting it on par with Ford and General Motors in scale. But the company is showing undeniable signs of a slowdown, especially in China, which accounts for 80% of its sales. BYD has slowed production and put back capacity expansion plans at domestic plants. A Reuters analysis shows its sales of budget cars, which make up the bulk of its home-market demand, fell close to 10% on the year in July. By comparison, local rival Geely saw its sales of cheap autos leap 90% over the same period.