BYD is set to announce a 4-million-unit target, with a higher 4.2 million sales forecast given to suppliers, including 2 million BEVs, and 2.2 million PHEVs, according to local media.

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BYD's (OTCMKTS: BYDDF) initial plan for its 2024 sales target is 4 million units, after selling 3.02 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) in 2023, local media outlet 36kr reported today.

BYD is set to announce a target of 4 million units, and it can reach a total capacity of 4.2 million at its production sites, with a 4.2 million sales forecast given to suppliers, the report said, citing a source.

Of those 4.2 million sales forecasts, 2 million will be battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and another 2.2 million will be plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), with lower-priced models dominating sales, the report said, citing another source close to BYD.

For the full year of 2023, BYD sold 3,024,417 NEVs, reaching its target of 3 million units, up 62.3 percent year-on-year. Of these, 3,012,906 passenger NEVs were sold and 11,511 commercial NEVs were sold.

The Chinese NEV maker had sales of 1,574,822 passenger BEVs and 1,438,084 passenger PHEVs in 2023.

BYD is on track to challenge Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) for the BEV sales crown in 2024, market research firm TrendForce said in a February 20 report.

Tesla, which produces only BEVs, delivered 1,808,581 units worldwide in 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023, BYD's quarterly passenger BEV sales of 526,409 units surpassed Tesla's 484,507 units for the first time.

In 2023, Tesla continues to lead the BEV rankings with 19.9 percent market share in the world, followed by BYD with 17.1 percent, closing the sales gap with Tesla to 248,000 units, according to TrendForce.

BYD's 4 million sales target implies a 33 percent growth, which is very challenging for the red-hot competitive Chinese car market, 36kr's report today noted, adding that BYD's strategy continues to be to price cuts.

BYD has already launched lower-priced Glory Edition models for the Qin Plus, Chaser 05, and Dolphin, and will launch updated versions for the Han and Tang on February 28.

After launching the Champion Edition models last year, main BYD models will all be available in Glory Editions this year, which is usually around RMB 20,000 ($2,780) lower than the old model, 36kr's report said.

In order to provide support for the price cuts, some of BYD's suppliers are being asked to reduce costs in early 2024 by no less than early 2023, according to the report.

BYD is targeting an internal battery price reduction of 10 percent in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year, and a further 10 percent in the second half, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Increasing overseas sales will be one way for BYD to achieve higher sales targets.

BYD's engineering institute has set up the Savadika research institute, which functions like an overseas product center, according to 36kr.

Savadika is a common Thai word for "hello".

BYD's plant in Uzbekistan started production at the end of January, and it is also building plants in Thailand, Brazil, and Hungary.

BYD has high expectations for its Thailand plant, which is expected to have a monthly capacity of 10,000 units in 2024, according to 36kr.

Construction of BYD's Thailand plant began in March 2023, and the company previously mentioned that the facility is expected to begin production in 2024 with a capacity of around 150,000 units per year.

Meanwhile, BYD is also increasing its investment in the field of vehicle intelligence.

The intelligent connectivity center and intelligent driving center of BYD's planning institute will be integrated and an intelligent technology research institute will be established, 36kr said today, citing several people familiar with the matter.

This means that BYD's intelligent cockpit business and intelligent driving business will work together at different levels, which is expected to save material costs, according to the report.

($1 = RMB 7.198)

BYD poised to challenge Tesla for BEV sales crown in 2024, TrendForce says