BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD’s third-quarter profit dropped 32.6% year-on-year, a second straight quarterly decline and the biggest fall in over four years, as it faces increasing competition from domestic rivals.
Net profit totalled 7.8 billion yuan ($1.10 billion) while revenue dropped 3.1% year-on-year to 195 billion yuan, the first such decline in more than five years, according to a stock filing on Thursday.
The consecutive quarterly profit fall comes as BYD faces tougher competition in its home market from the likes of Geely and Leapmotor, which have been taking share from BYD in the budget car segment. BYD’s domestic market share dropped to 14% in September from 18% a year earlier.
BYD, China’s biggest automaker, has reduced its sales target for 2025 by 16% to 4.6 million vehicles, but still expects its EV and plug-in hybrid exports to double from 2024, with Europe among its fastest-growing markets.
BYD is also planning to increase its presence in Japan by debuting a new made-for-Japan mini-EV at the Japan Mobility Show, which opens to the public on Friday.
The automaker offered a new round of discounts last month on some models including the Qin Plus to stay competitive at home, where about 80% of its cars are sold.
BYD’s quarterly car sales fell for the first time since 2020, alongside an extended downtrend in production at its mega factories.
($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh. Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mark Potter)
