BYD on track to meet 2024 sales target

BYD, China’s top electric vehicle maker, gained market share as the world’s largest auto market recorded its fastest growing month in 2024, helping BYD surpass its annual sales target world and surpass Ford and Honda.

BYD has experienced extraordinary expansion this year, increasing capacity and undertaking a massive hiring drive to boost revenue that surpassed that of electric vehicle leader Tesla in the third quarter.

Helped by robust sales in China, BYD is on track to exceed its annual sales target of 4 million vehicles, which would put it ahead of Japan’s Honda and Detroit-based Ford for 2024. The Chinese electric vehicle giant has delivered 3.76 million vehicles in the first half. 11 months this year including 506,804 units sold in November.

Buoyed by strong sales led by a competitive range of models featuring its latest plug-in hybrid technology, BYD gained ground on rivals as car sales in China saw their strongest year-on-year growth in November previous since January, thanks to the government-subsidized automobile trade. ins.

The number of subsidized car swaps stood at more than 4 million as of November 18, according to official data. Without those trades, year-to-date car sales may have declined compared with a 4.4 percent increase in the January-November period, according to a Reuters analysis based on industry figures.

Last month, BYD’s share of China’s auto market, which accounts for more than 90% of its total sales, stood at 17.1%, up from 12.5% ​​in 2023, according to China Passenger Car data. Association (CPCA).

The stacked bar shows sales of new energy vehicles and sales of other types of fuel cars in China.

In comparison, Volkswagen’s two joint ventures with SAIC and FAW Group took a combined market share of 11 percent in the January-November period, up from 14.2 percent last year.

If this sales momentum continues, BYD could sell more than 6 million units in the next 12 months, putting it on par with major global auto groups such as General Motors and Stellantis, according to Reuters estimates based on existing sales of automobile manufacturers. .

The Chinese company aims to deliver 5 to 6 million cars in 2025, Citi analysts said in a recent note following a meeting with the automaker’s management.

BYD did not respond to a request for comment.

Between August and October, the automaker added nearly 200,000 units to its production capacity and hired 200,000 workers to make automobiles and parts, an executive said in November.

BYD’s total number of employees stood at nearly 1 million in September, up from around 703,500 at the end of 2023.

Its efforts to increase its size have allowed it to outpace rivals in growth, better control costs and win a brutal price war in China that has strained many foreign automakers. BYD has also requested price reductions from dozens of its suppliers, according to a recent state media report.

In the latest sign of growing difficulties for foreign automakers in China, GM announced last week that it would take more than $5 billion in charges on its China operations due to restructuring and the decline in the value of its joint venture. , which suffered losses and declining sales. .