BYD set to overtake Ford and Honda in global sales

REUTERS: China’s top electric vehicle producer, BYD, is set to show further market share gains when November vehicle sales data is released on Monday, putting it on course to exceed its annual goal and overtake Ford (F.N) and Honda (7267.T) in global sales.

BYD has been on an extraordinary expansion this year, growing capacity and undertaking a massive hiring spree to turbocharge revenue, which overtook EV leader Tesla (TSLA.O) in the third quarter.

As of October, BYD’s share of the China auto market, which makes up more than 90 per cent of its total sales, stood at 16.2 per cent, up from 12.5 per cent in 2023, according to the CPCA data.

By comparison, Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) two joint ventures with SAIC (600104.SS) and FAW Group took a combined 12.5 per cent market share in the January-October period, compared with 14.2 per cent last year.

If that sales momentum continues, BYD could sell more than 6 million units in the next 12 months, which would put it on par with the world’s leading automaker groups such as General Motors (GM.N) and Stellantis (STLAM.MI).

The Chinese firm aims to deliver 5-6 million cars in 2025, Citi analysts said in a recent note after a meeting with the automaker’s management.

BYD didn’t respond to a request for comment.

During August to October, the automaker added nearly 200,000 units in production capacity and hired 200,000 workers for auto and part manufacturing, an executive said in November.

The total number of BYD employees was close to one million as of September, up from around 703,500 at the end of 2023.

Its efforts to boost scale 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 asked dozens of its suppliers for price cuts, according to a recent state-owned media report.

In the latest sign of foreign carmakers’ deepening woes in China, GM said last week it would take more than $5 billion in charges on its China operation due to restructuring and declining value of its joint venture that has suffered losses and declining sales.

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