China’s BYD, Geely bank on big discounts to set record car sales, pressure smaller rivals
BYD had its best month this year in June, while Geely Auto is gunning for record deliveries in 2025 after a robust first-half performance
“More consumers believed it was the right time to make their purchase decisions,” said Zhao Zhen, a sales director at Shanghai-based dealer Wan Zhuo Auto. “But worries are mounting that sales would decline sharply when the carmakers stop offering big discounts.”
Companies cut prices on a total of 70 EVs and petrol cars in the final week of May, according to the 21st Century Business Herald newspaper, capitalising on state subsidies to draw buyers. Beijing offers a 20,000 yuan (US$2,790) trade-in rebate for EV purchases and 15,000 yuan for petrol-powered cars. EV buyers are also exempt from paying a 10 per cent sales tax.
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Geely, which makes petrol- and electric-powered cars, delivered 1.41 million vehicles in China and abroad from January to June, a 47.5 per cent surge from a year earlier, according to its exchange filing on Tuesday. The firm raised its full-year target by 11 per cent to a record 3 million units, the filing showed.
The Hangzhou-based firm in east Zhejiang province said its budget EV brand Galaxy recorded a 232 per cent year-on-year sales surge to 548,408 units in the first six months, while its premium EV unit Zeekr registered a 14.5 per cent jump to 244,877 units.