Amid Intense Competition in China's Auto Industry, BYD Still Aims to Become World's No. 1 in Scale Within 5 Years

(CNA reporter Lu Jia-rong, Taipei, 10th) China's auto industry is experiencing intense internal competition, yet BYD founder Wang Chuanfu claimed at a shareholder meeting on the 9th that BYD is expected to achieve the number one global scale within the next five years.

According to reports from Beijing News and other media, Wang Chuanfu said at the shareholder meeting held at BYD's headquarters in Shenzhen on the 9th that the new energy vehicle industry faced immense pressure in the first quarter of this year. A primary reason was the phase-out of the purchase tax policy at the beginning of the year (referring to the gradual reduction and even cancellation of subsidies or tax exemptions for new energy vehicle purchases).

Starting from January 1st of this year, the policy of exempting new energy vehicles from purchase tax in China officially ended and was replaced by a half-levy, impacting BYD's sales.

However, Wang Chuanfu emphasized, "The worst moment has passed." In March of this year, BYD released its second-generation Blade Battery and flash charging technology, which became the turning point. These two technologies directly address the core pain point of the first half of electrification, namely charging anxiety, and order volumes have increased significantly as a result.

Wang Chuanfu also admitted that there is currently a production capacity gap for the second-generation Blade Battery, and it is in a phase of monthly ramp-up, with monthly capacity increasing by 20,000 to 30,000 sets. The company is responding to the challenge "day and night." This year's sales for BYD will depend on battery production. The company will focus on the battery division, allocate resources, and fully tap into the production capacity of the Blade Battery.

Wang Chuanfu stressed that new technologies will continue to be launched next year and the year after. "With a dual-wheel drive of domestic and international markets, I believe that by 2030, BYD can truly become the global number one in scale."

Reuters reported that over the past year, facing fierce competition in China's auto industry, BYD's domestic sales were hit, and its growth momentum was hampered. Affected by this, BYD's stock price in Hong Kong has plummeted by more than 45% from its peak over the past year, and its Shenzhen A-shares also fell by 33% during the same period.

The report stated that Wang Chuanfu's proposal of this ambitious goal at this time is to appease investors amidst a sharp decline in the company's stock price. (Editor: Chen Kai-yu) 1150610