Sales Misery In E-Car-BYD Share: Too many cars, too few buyers

BYD arrived at the top at the beginning of 2024. Selling more cars such as Volkswagen in China, Tesla as the world’s largest e-car manufacturer-the group did not seem to stop. But now the entire camp and the falling question are the expansion course from braking. The home market is particularly weak: although the Chinese market for electric cars increased by more than 45 percent in the first quarter, BYD came up with a lean growth of 5.5 percent, according to a report from Handelsblatt.

Overproduction and string lists
It was not until May that the group started to reduce production and produced 318,530 vehicles according to the Marklines of the data service provider – a decrease of 2.6 percent compared to the same month last year. At the end of May, BYD had a total overhang of more than 340,000 failed cars. In June, production even rose something again – but only by one percent. The pressure on the works remains high. According to Reuters information, night shifts were removed, extensions were put on ice and production in some works was reduced by a maximum of a third.

Full farms, empty showrooms
According to the Handelsblatt report, the inventory of BYD dealers with an average of 3.21 months and an industry-maximal value was at the end of May. In the province of Shandong, a large dealer closed more than 20 branches.

The competition is leaving
While BYD stumbles, other manufacturers celebrate sales successes. For example, with his SUV Yu7, Xiaomi caused a hurry: 289,000 pre -orders in an hour – a real coup. With a range of 760 kilometers and a lower price than Teslas model Y or BYDS Tang, the model could be 41 percent of Xiaomi’s car lies in the second half of the year. Xpeng, Geely and Chery also register growth rates in the range of three digitters.

“Drink poison to breastfeed thirsty”
To remain competitive, BYD trusts extreme price reductions. The “Möwe” model costs the equivalent of just about 6800 euros. But warning experts from industry: the high discounts are “drinking poison to breastfeed thirsty”, Chery boss Yin Tongyue criticized without calling immediately. Great Wall -founder Wei Jianjun became even clearer: he compared BYD with the bankruptcy real Estate Giant Evergrand. And Catl production leader Ni Jun struck the last price reductions of BYD alarm: without intervention, “none of his competitors will survive”.

Risky exporting offensive
Because China is no longer enough, BYD is completely on export – it costs what it wants. In March, CEO Wang Chuanfu announced that export in 2025 to double to more than 800,000 vehicles. This includes an extension of billion dollars in Europe, including a work in Hungary. The group wants to invest up to $ 20 billion in Europe.

Six own cargo ships are already on the road, one seventh follows, one eighth is under construction. The car driver “Byd Xi’an” transports 7,000 vehicles to Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Belgium. According to the company, more than 70,000 cars have already been exported by their own fleet.

The trick with the short registrations
But BYD apparently also uses questionable methods: in China, vehicles in China are explained as “used” in the short term – although they are de facto new cars. In this way, customs costs can be avoided in many countries. According to Reuters, more than 20 local authorities in China should support this practice – with special licenses, tax help and special storage rooms.

The Chinese state newspaper “Volkszeitung” called the procedure a “veiled form of price reduction” and, according to Handelsblatt, warned of a “vicious circle in the car industry”.

Europe as hope – with pitfalls
Byd pushes with power to Europe. In Rome, the group showed a drone for the new Dolphin Surf-a compact electricity for around 23,000 euros. Great -Britain is considered a lot of hope: nearly 15,000 vehicles sold BYD there from January to May – this is just behind Tesla.

But it’s not so around. In Germany, for example, BYD models mainly sell rental car companies or by self-registration. Private customers hardly access. In May, only 128 new cars were sold to end customers. According to Handelsblatt, BYD is planning to open 120 sales locations by the end of the year – there are currently only 27.

In Austria, however, BYD is now a market leader for private e-car purchases and in the 1st quarter of this year came to a market share of approximately 15 percent. In general, the company comes to 2.5 percent for new car registrations in this country. It was not until the end of June that BYD-Vice president Stella Li signed a contract with Voetalpine boss Herbert Eibensteiner: the Linz delivers high-quality steel for body and outdoor sheets for the E-car factory in Hungary.