BYD‘s domestic sales dropped for the second consecutive week as the company announced temporary price cuts that can reach up to 34%.
Sales fell 3.3% to 53,300 vehicles between May 19 and 25, according to data shared on Chinese social media this Tuesday.
The figures mark the lowest weekly total since early April, a period typically impacted by the automotive industry’s slow start to each quarter.
The China giant reached its best sales week of the year in the first full week of May with nearly 68,000 vehicles sold, which dropped 19% to about 55,000 units in the following week.
Between January 1 and May 25, BYD registered about 1,076,200 vehicles in its home market.
Registration data from last week revealed that its sub-brand Denza registered 2,700 units. China’s MIIT latest catalog, released on Friday, revealed that the brand will launch a six-seat hybrid SUV, the N8L.
The luxury EV maker Fang Cheng Bao also listed 2,700 vehicles. Two weeks ago, images of the upcoming Tai 7 SUV have leaked on Chinese social media, revealing the midsize to large SUV will feature boxy proportions similar to the Land Rover Defender.
Competitors
Tesla recorded 11,000 vehicles last week, a slight dip of 1.2% from the previous week, which was its best sales week in the quarter.
Regarding Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) brands, Li Auto was the best newcomer brand, with 10,500 units sold. Leapmotor and Xiaomi followed with 7,200 and 6,800 vehicles, respectively. XPeng, however, posted its second consecutive week of sales under 6,000 units.
Nio Group sold 6,530 vehicles, from which 3,840 were sales from its premium EV brand Nio — barely outperforming its main competitor Zeekr which recorded 3,600 units.
Nio’s family-oriented sub-brand Onvo registered 1,560 EVs, while the recently launched Firefly listed 1,130 EVs — above 1,000 units weekly for the first time.
Price Cuts
Last week, BYD launched the city compact Dolphin Surf in European markets. Known as the Seagull in China, the EV was the brand’s second-best-selling model in its home market last month, with 55,028 units sold.
In Germany, it starts at €22,990 ($26,100) for the base version with 220 km of WLTP range, while the 310 km version is priced from €24,990. In Italy, pricing begins at €18,990 ($21,500) before local incentives.
In China, the vehicle is priced from 55,800 yuan, equivalent to $7,800 — after a 20% cut over the weekend.
BYD announced a temporary price cut of up to 35% across 22 models, sparking a price war in China. Direct competitors, like Leapmotor and IM Motors, have already responded with price cuts ranging from 18% to 30%.
Data from Jato Dynamics revealed last week that the Shenzhen-based auto giant outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time last month, by registering 7,231 fully electric vehicles on the continent, overtaking the U.S. brand, which sold 7,165.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) reported on Tuesday that battery electric vehicles (BEV) made up 15.3% of all new vehicle sales in the EU last month, up from 12% last year.
Hybrid models took 35.3% of the market and were the top choice for consumers on the continent.
In April, 1,077,186 new vehicles were sold in the EU, with Volkswagen Group making up 27.6% of those sales, according to the ACEA.
The report confirms that Tesla sold 7,165 vehicles — nearly half of its sales in the same period last year. However, it doesn’t include sales from Chinese carmakers.
