Having raced past rivals to become the world’s top EV seller, BYD’s challenge is to stay ahead

 

INVESTORS in BYD might be feeling like the Chinese automobile maker is at a crossroads. And perhaps rightly so.

BYD – short for Build Your Dreams – last week posted guidance for its 2023 net profit amid a flurry of industry news about slowing demand for electric vehicles (EVs).

The company estimated that its full-year earnings would come in at between 29 billion yuan (S$5.4 billion) and 31 billion yuan, which works out to an improvement of 74.4 per cent and 86.5 per cent year on year.

While its bottom line improvement in 2023 is no small feat, it is dwarfed by the 446 per cent surge it recorded in 2022, which raised its net profit to 16.6 billion yuan.

Instead of driving the stock price higher,...