BYD Cuts 2025 Sales Target by 16% Amid Cooling Growth and Intensifying Competition
China’s electric vehicle giant BYD has significantly lowered its 2025 sales target by 16%, revising the figure down from 5.5 million to 4.6 million vehicles. This reduction signals a cooling of growth for the world’s largest EV manufacturer amid intensified competition and shifting market conditions. Despite achieving remarkable expansion over the past few years, BYD is now facing increased pressure from emerging domestic rivals such as Geely, Leapmotor, and Xiaomi, who are aggressively capturing market share with competitively priced, feature-packed models. BYD’s quarterly profits recently plunged by 30%, reflecting margins under strain from fierce price wars and new regulatory restrictions on discounting. The company has also slowed production and delayed factory expansions, marking a notable shift from its previously rapid growth trajectory. With China’s EV market becoming increasingly saturated and consumer demand softening, BYD’s revised target highlights the challenges it must overcome to maintain its leadership position in a highly competitive and evolving landscape.
BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, has reduced its 2025 sales target by 16%, lowering its goal from 5.5 million to 4.6 million vehicles—a move that signals a significant slowdown in its rapid growth trajectory and reflects mounting competitive and economic pressures in China’s auto market. This adjustment comes amid fierce price wars and shrinking profit margins, with rivals such as Geely, Leapmotor, and the surprise success of Xiaomi’s new EV entries eating into BYD’s market share. Analysts report that in the first eight months of 2025, BYD achieved only 52% of its initial target, highlighting the challenge of reaching its revised goals in a slowing economic environment marked by deflationary trends and a prolonged property crisis. BYD’s new sales target, which was communicated internally and to key suppliers, reflects just 7.6% year-on-year growth—a marked deceleration compared to previous years when the brand’s sales increased tenfold between 2020 and 2024
The downgrade follows a 30% drop in BYD’s latest quarterly profits, its first major earnings contraction in over three years—a clear indicator that China’s EV leader is now facing tougher headwinds as sales of its lower-priced domestic models decline and government restrictions slow aggressive discounting strategies. While BYD continues to innovate and maintain efficiencies with its in-house production model, it is slowing factory expansion and reassessing capacity against competitors like Geely, whose own sales targets have climbed sharply. After dominating China’s EV sector during its record-breaking expansion, BYD now finds itself in a highly contested market facing softer consumer demand and increasingly aggressive rivals, making 2025 a critical inflection point for the company’s future growth.
BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, has reduced its 2025 sales target by 16%, lowering its goal from 5.5 million to 4.6 million vehicles—a move that signals a significant slowdown in its rapid growth trajectory and reflects mounting competitive and economic pressures in China’s auto market. This adjustment comes amid fierce price wars and shrinking profit margins, with rivals such as Geely, Leapmotor, and the surprise success of Xiaomi’s new EV entries eating into BYD’s market share. Analysts report that in the first eight months of 2025, BYD achieved only 52% of its initial target, highlighting the challenge of reaching its revised goals in a slowing economic environment marked by deflationary trends and a prolonged property crisis. BYD’s new sales target, which was communicated internally and to key suppliers, reflects just 7.6% year-on-year growth—a marked deceleration compared to previous years when the brand’s sales increased tenfold between 2020 and 2024.
The downgrade follows a 30% drop in BYD’s latest quarterly profits, its first major earnings contraction in over three years—a clear indicator that China’s EV leader is now facing tougher headwinds as sales of its lower-priced domestic models decline and government restrictions slow aggressive discounting strategies. While BYD continues to innovate and maintain efficiencies with its in-house production model, it is slowing factory expansion and reassessing capacity against competitors like Geely, whose own sales targets have climbed sharply. After dominating China’s EV sector during its record-breaking expansion, BYD now finds itself in a highly contested market facing softer consumer demand and increasingly aggressive rivals, making 2025 a critical inflection point for the company’s future growth.