Exclusive-China’s BYD cuts 2025 sales target by 16%, sources say, a sign its white-hot growth is cooling

From Reuters

Highlights:

• 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.

• The people didn't give a reason for the cut. However, one of them said it comes as BYD feels the heat from growing competition with rivals such as Geely Auto and Leapmotor.

• Last week, BYD reported a 30% drop in quarterly profit, its first decline in more than three years.

• The new target represents a 7% increase from last year and would be the slowest annual growth since 2020, when sales fell by 7%.

• In the first eight months of this year, BYD has only met some 52% of its original 5.5 million vehicle sales target.

• It is now showing undeniable signs of a slowdown, especially in its main market China, which accounts for almost 80% of its sales and is in the midst of a bruising, years-old price war.