In the first eight months of this year, China’s largest car manufacturer, BYD, has reported weaker performance than expected. Insider sources revealed that BYD has reduced its 2025 sales target by 16% to 4.6 million units, marking the lowest annual sales growth since 2020. However, this target could still be adjusted based on market conditions.
According to a report by Reuters on September 4th, two unnamed sources familiar with the matter disclosed that last month BYD internally, along with some suppliers, set a new sales target of 4.6 million units for the year, representing a 16% decrease from the target of 5.5 million units announced during an investor communication meeting in March.
Based on the new target, BYD’s sales growth would only reach 7% year-on-year, making it the lowest annual sales increase since 2020. The sources mentioned that this target could still change depending on market conditions, as BYD has revised its sales targets downward multiple times in recent months.
As for the reasons behind the lowered sales target, one source stated that BYD is feeling increasingly intense competitive pressure from rivals like Geely and Leap Motor.
In August, BYD sold 373,000 vehicles, a marginal increase of 0.15% compared to the same period last year. From January to August, BYD’s cumulative sales reached 2.8639 million units, a 23% year-on-year growth. Although maintaining positive growth and leading the sales rankings among Chinese auto companies, BYD’s performance in the first eight months fell short of its 5.5 million unit annual target, achieving only 52% completion. Domestically, BYD faced greater sales pressure as its local sales in August dropped by 14%, while overseas sales surged by 157% to 80,000 units.
Reports suggest that BYD’s challenges go beyond sales figures. The company’s financial report for the first half of 2025 indicated pressure on operating income and profits.
On August 29, BYD announced its latest financial results, revealing a 30% year-on-year decline in net profit for the second quarter to 6.4 billion Chinese yuan, contrasting sharply with a 100.4% profit increase in the first quarter. This also marks the first quarterly profit decline for BYD in over three years.
In this context, Deutsche Bank has lowered its 2025 net profit expectation for BYD by 23.3% and estimated the company’s 2025 sales to be 4.7 million units, while Morningstar predicts 4.8 million units.
Reuters suggests that BYD has shown undeniable signs of slowing growth, especially in its primary market of China, which accounts for nearly 80% of its sales and is engaged in a prolonged and fierce price war.