BYD slows down (also in the stock market), and the 2025 target is at risk
The goal of 5.5 million cars sold in the year is beginning to look distant. The slowdown does not come at an easy time: the Chinese authorities have intervened in the price war
2' min read
2' min read
The run of BYD, the Chinese and global electric car giant, shows signs of slowing down. In July, sales slowed for the first time in over a year and a half, and the market reacted: the stock lost as much as 4.2 per cent on Monday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, down 28 per cent from its May highs. Not only that, with 344,296 vehicles delivered last month - just 0.6 per cent more than a year ago and 10 per cent less than in June - the goal of 5.5 million cars sold in 2025 is starting to look distant.
BYD, which has been leading the global rankings of electric vehicle manufacturers for months, has sold 2.49 million units so far. To meet the target set at the beginning of the year, it should register a monthly average of more than 600,000 cars from August to December. A threshold never reached so far: the record is just under 515,000 units, recorded last December.
The slowdown does not come at an easy time. The Chinese authorities are in fact trying to bring order back to the market, after months marked by a price war triggered by heavy discounts and promotions. Now Beijing is putting the brakes on, urging carmakers to avoid overly aggressive policies. For BYD, which benefited from that expansionary phase, a new phase - more complex, made up of different strategies - is opening up.
To make matters worse, international sales also fell: -10% compared to June, to 80,737 units. Yet the competition is not standing idly by. Geely, another Chinese bigwig, had its best July in months with 237,717 cars sold. Leapmotor - now a partner of Stellantis - hit a record 50,129 units, while Xpeng exceeded 36,700. Even Xiaomi, the latest entrant in the industry, posted its best result: over 30,000 vehicles. Only Li Auto did worse, with sales down 40% year-on-year.
According to Nomura analysts, BYD will end 2025 with deliveries of between 5.0 and 5.2 million vehicles. A good result, certainly, but below expectations. To recover, a change of pace will be needed: new models, updates, perhaps some surprises on the foreign market.
