BYD report 75% growth despite electric vehicle price war

The news: Chinese car manufacturer BYD reported an earnings rise on back of domestic electric vehicle sales in 2023, but a price war in China meant income failed to meet analyst expectations.

The numbers: Despite a drop in demand for EVs globally, strong Chinese sales boosted BYD's preliminary net income for 2023 by 75% compared to the previous year. However, its earnings of between 29 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) and 31 billion yuan fell short of the average analyst estimate of 31.5 billion yuan.

The context: In Q4 2023, BYD sold 526,409 fully electric cars, toppling Tesla for the first time as the largest seller worldwide. While growth has been spurred by its offering of cheaper EV models, a price war in China saw the carmaker discount its Qin, Han and Tang models by up to 10,000 yuan last year. Meanwhile, the European Commission selected BYD among other manufacturers as part of its anti-subsidy investigation, looking into whether support from the Chinese government has given companies an unfair advantage in the market.