BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares lost as much as 17 per cent of their market value, or HK$122.3 billion (US$15.6 billion), on Monday after falling to HK$378.20 from an all-time high of HK$477.80 on May 23. The company’s shares recovered 4 per cent on Tuesday. Analysts attributed part of the decline to a weak earnings report for the most recent quarter.
The Shenzhen-based firm, the world’s largest maker of new energy vehicles (NEVs), delivered 382,476 units in May, a 0.6 per cent gain from April. On the mainland, which is plagued by unrelenting discounts, its May sales stalled from a year earlier and weakened 2.5 per cent from April, according to a report released on Sunday.
“The price move reinforces BYD’s strategy to favour scale over temporary per-car profitability in the domestic EV market,” HSBC analysts including Ding Yuqian said in a report last week. “This round of seasonal promotion coincides with soft domestic demand, weak consumption sentiment and intense competition.”
Li Yunfei, who oversees branding and public relations at BYD, took issue with the comparison.
