BYD reportedly cut sales target to 4.6 million units

BYD has reportedly lowered its annual sales target from 5.5 to 4.6 million vehicles. Signs had already emerged that the company would struggle to reach the initial goal. In August, BYD reduced production for the second consecutive month.

BYD had seen years of strong growth. In 2024, the Chinese manufacturer sold 4.27 million vehicles worldwide – a new record. For 2025, the target was 5.5 million units, announced to analysts back in March. But things have become increasingly difficult. Reuters now reports, citing two insiders, that BYD has revised its internal target several times in recent months, settling at 4.6 million vehicles. That would mark the lowest annual growth rate in five years.

The August figures already indicated that BYD would likely miss its target. After eight months – two-thirds of the year – BYD had only reached 52.1 per cent of the original goal. To hit 5.5 million, the company would have needed an exceptionally strong final quarter. Analysts, including China Merchants Bank, had already doubted this scenario. The bank still forecast 4.9 million units earlier this week.

Production tells a similar story. In August, BYD reduced output for the second month in a row. In July, production fell 0.9 per cent year-on-year; in August, it dropped another 3.78 per cent. This is the first back-to-back decline since the Covid year of 2020.

Reuters links the development to the Chinese market environment. The price war, which BYD itself triggered, is now hitting domestic manufacturers too. The production slowdown marks a pause in BYD’s years of rapid expansion. The company has reportedly cut shifts at certain plants and delayed new production lines.

Meanwhile, Beijing has also tightened its grip on the sector. In June, officials urged carmakers to ease discounting. In July, regulators exposed subsidy fraud between 2016 and 2020 – also involving BYD. Another long-standing practice is now under scrutiny: registering new cars briefly to boost sales figures, before reselling them abroad as nearly-new vehicles with zero mileage.

Globally, BYD’s sales still rose slightly in August, helped by growth in Europe. In China, however, sales fell for the fourth month in a row – down 14.3 per cent year-on-year to 292,813 vehicles. Since four out of five BYDs are still sold in China, the company remains heavily dependent on its domestic market.

reuters.com

This article was first published by Cora Werwitzke for electrive’s German edition.