Major Chinese electric carmaker BYD Co (比亞迪) yesterday reported lower-than-expected revenue for the first quarter of the year, as an aggressive domestic price war and Western regulatory pressure weighed on the company’s growth.
BYD posted an operating revenue of 124.94 billion yuan (US$17.25 billion) for the first three months of the year, up 3.97 percent from a year ago, according to a stock exchange filing.
Bloomberg analysts had predicted a quarterly revenue of 132.53 billion yuan.
Photo: Pedro Pardo, AFP
The Shenzhen-based company is moving quickly overseas — including into Southeast Asian countries but also further afield in Latin America and Europe — as a price war continues to be waged in China, the world’s largest automotive market.
BYD overtook Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc in the fourth quarter of last year to become the world’s top seller of electric vehicles (EVs). Tesla reclaimed that title in the first quarter of this year, but BYD remains firmly on top in its home market.
The Chinese automaker recorded a record annual profit of 30 billion yuan last year.
Its profit in the first quarter was 4.57 billion yuan, up 10.62 percent from a year ago, BYD said.
BYD said its research and development and marketing expenses had shot up in the first quarter due to an "increase in advertising and exhibition expenses and depreciation and amortization", as well as higher "material consumption."
China has led the global transition to electric vehicles, with almost 1 in 3 cars on Chinese roads set to be electric by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency’s annual Global EV Outlook published last week.
There are a staggering 129 EV brands in China, but just 20 have managed to achieve a domestic market share of one percent or more, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Rival brands have sought in recent months to undercut each other’s prices, offering customers built-in gadgets and trendy customisation options at lower and lower pricetags.
Meanwhile, European regulators are raising the alarm on what they describe as Chinese industrial "overcapacity" created by excessive state subsidies, which could flood global markets with cheap vehicles.
The EU launched an investigation last year into the subsidies, which it said had given Chinese
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Tokyo Electron's Taiwan unit today said in a written response that it respects the judicial process, takes the court ruling seriously and would not appeal in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) trade secrets case. Last month, a court fined the Taiwan unit of Japan's Tokyo Electron NT$150 million (US$4.74 million) in a case involving trade secrets related to TSMC's sensitive chip technology.
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS