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BEIJING, March 29 (TMTPOST)— BYD management expressed optimism on sales even the auto market in China is experiencing fierce price war that evolved competitors from traditional  auto companies to high-profile electric vehicle (EV) peers.

Source: Visual China

Sales for the first quarter of 2023 are expected to increase more than 80% from a year earlier, and BYD aims to become the largest automaker in China by the end of the year, said Wang Chuanfu, founder and chairman of the Chinese leading EV company, at a post-earnings briefing on Wednesday.

Wang believes the price war in the industry was resulted from mismatch between supply and demand, namely, oversupply. Just as home appliances, mobile phones and other industries, price competition in the EV sector has no exception; therefore, some companies will be eliminated while some others will win a biger market share during the war, according to Wang. He said his company has maintained robust growth and will try to maintain price tags and profit margins in the war, underscoring its brand and scale would bring it competitive advantage.  

China’s EV market has entered a knockout stage this year and the price war will last if the supply still outweighs demand, Wang noted. The chief admitted the price war did pose have a certain psychological impact on consumers, but predicted such impact to be eased by the end of April. With the upcoming various auto shows in May, the market confidence will gradually improve and the auto market in China will return to a relatively decent growth that month, Wang expected.

BYD just posted shockingly well financial results for the past year prior to Wang’s remark. The Warren Buffett-backed company smashed quarterly record with net income of RMB7.31 billion (US$1.06 billion) in the quarter ended December with a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 1114.5%, much stronger than the growth of 350% in previous quarter. Revenue climbed 120.4% YoY to RMB424.06 billion, compared with a 115.6% increase a quarter earlier. The whole year saw BYD recorded net income of RMB16.62 billion, up 445.86% from 2021, and annual revenue jumped 96.20% to RMB424.06 billion.

BYD said it has taken the first place in China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market for the tenth consecutive year. As of December, BYD’s sales topped 200,000 units for the fourth consecutive month, maintaining a triple-digit monthly growth since entering into 2022. Its annual sales suggest at least 500,000 vehicles delivered more than Tesla for the year.

BYD outsold FAW-Volkswagen in 2022 and became the best selling auto brand in China’s passenger vehicle market, the first time for a native brand to win the annual sales champion, according to China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). In the first two months of this year, BYD notched more than 40% of share in China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) sector including battery electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, up from 34% last year, while Tesla’s market share down to 7.8%.

Earlier this month, Tesla’s Chinese rivals posted rally from massive slowdown in delivery. BYD sales in February jumped 119.37% from a year earlier, compared with a 62.44% growth in previous month. Sales were fueled by automakers’ big promotion including price cuts, as well as economic simulative measures unveiled by local governments, CPCA analyzed. Data from the auto industry body showed wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles made by BYD in February reached 191,664 NEVs, more than doubling that of Tesla with a wholesale volume of 74,402 units.