BYD, China’s largest electric car maker, gained market share as the world’s largest auto market posted its fastest growth month in 2024, leaving BYD poised to exceed its global annual sales target and overtake Ford and Honda.
BYD has seen extraordinary expansion this year, ramping up capacity and executing a massive hiring spree to boost revenue that surpassed electric vehicle leader Tesla in the third quarter.
Buoyed by strong sales in China, BYD is on track to meet its annual sales target of 4 million vehicles, putting it ahead of Japan’s Honda and Detroit-based Ford for 2024.
The Chinese electric car giant delivered 3.76 million vehicles in the first 11 months of this year, including 506,804 units sold in November.
Buoyed by strong sales led by a competitive range of models equipped with its latest hybrid technology, BYD has gained ground on its rivals as car sales in China in November grew at their fastest pace from a year earlier since January, thanks to government-backed car trading. Additional.
The total number of supported car trades reached more than 4 million as of November 18, according to official data. Without such a trade-off, auto sales may have contracted since the beginning of the year versus a 4.4% increase in the January-November period, according to a Reuters analysis based on industry figures.
As of last month, BYD’s share of the Chinese auto market, which makes up more than 90% of its total sales, was 17.1%, up from 12.5% in 2023, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
In comparison, Volkswagen’s joint ventures with SAIC and FAW Group accounted for a combined market share of 11% in the January-November period, compared with 14.2% a year ago.
If this sales momentum continues, BYD could sell more than 6 million units in the next 12 months, putting it on par with the world’s leading automakers such as General Motors and Stellantis, according to Reuters estimates based on the automakers’ current sales. .
The Chinese company aims to deliver between 5 million and 6 million vehicles in 2025, Citi analysts said in a recent note after a meeting with the automaker’s management.
BYD did not respond to a request for comment.
An executive said in November that the automaker added nearly 200,000 units to production capacity during the August-October period, and hired 200,000 workers in manufacturing cars and parts.
BYD’s total headcount approached 1 million employees as of September, up from about 703,500 employees at the end of 2023.
Its efforts to boost volume have helped it outpace rivals in growth, better control costs, and win a brutal price war in China that has squeezed many foreign automakers. BYD has also asked dozens of its suppliers to reduce prices, according to a recent state-owned media report.
In the latest sign of worsening problems faced by foreign automakers in China, GM said last week it would take more than $5 billion in charges on its China operations due to restructuring and impairment of its joint venture, which has suffered losses and declining sales. .