BYD confident of hitting 3 million sales despite China weakness, report says

BYD remains confident of selling 3 million cars this year despite economic challenges and an intense price war in the world’s second-biggest economy, founder and Chairman Wang Chuanfu told analysts at a briefing, according to people who were present at the event.

China’s best-selling auto brand also signaled solid profits will continue in the second half of 2023, further boosting the outlook for the company, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the analyst meeting on Tuesday was private.

The automaker on Monday unveiled a 145 percent increase in second-quarter profit to 6.8 billion yuan ($934 million), and a 67 percent jump in revenue to 140 billion yuan after selling a record number of cars in a three-month period.

A price war started by Tesla at the start of the year has squeezed other EV manufacturers.

Both Xpeng and Nio this month reported wider-than-estimated second-quarter losses.

BYD, however, has resisted joining the price war, instead relying on its broad range of models and price points to attract buyers.

For BYD “the clear message is they are not” going to cut prices, Yuqian Ding, HSBC Qianhai Securities head of China autos research, told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.

“The upgraded product mix could help them mitigate largely from the pricing side so they stay more resilient and disciplined,” she said.

The Warren Buffett-backed clean car giant has sold 1.5 million full-electric and plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles this year through July, halfway to its annual target.