BYD Shares Plunge Over Price War Scrutiny Despite May Sales Jump

BYD shares continued their plunge despite monthly sales climbing to the highest in 2025 as the steep discounts the industry uses to entice buyers draw scrutiny from Beijing.

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HONG KONG -

The electric car manufacturer sold 382,476 vehicles in May, including 376,930 passenger cars, according to a statement on June 1.

While that marked a high point for 2025, the year-on-year growth of 15 per cent was the slowest since August 2020, except for a drop in deliveries in February 2024 that coincided with a broad slump due to the Chinese New Year holiday.

Despite the sales boost, BYD stock dropped almost 5 per cent in Hong Kong on June 2, which follows a more than 15 per cent slump last week, after a series of reports over the weekend indicated the industry's lengthy price war has caught the attention of the government.

In a commentary on June 1, the People's Daily - the mouthpiece of China's Communist Party - criticised the "rat-race competition" and warned that price wars can seriously affect supply chain security.