STORY: BYD has slowed its production and expansion pace in recent months.
That’s according to two sources close to the matter.
They said the Chinese electric vehicle giant reduced shifts at some factories in its home market and delayed plans to add new production lines.
The decisions might be a sign BYD’s strong sales growth over the past couple of years could slow.
It also faces rising inventory even after offering deep price cuts in China’s highly competitive auto market.
The sources said BYD canceled night shifts and lowered output by at least a third at some of its factories.
They added the measures were imposed on at least four facilities, and BYD had suspended some plans to set up a new production line.
BYD’s expansion in recent years drove it to overtake Tesla as the world’s largest EV maker.
It sold 4.27 million cars last year.
The automaker has at least seven car factories in China and targeted a near-30% rise in sales this year.
Reuters was not able to identify the exact scale of the production reduction and expansion suspension.
It could also not find out how long these measures may last.
One of the sources said the moves were aimed at saving costs.
While another said they were imposed after sales failed to meet targets.
BYD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
