BYD's shares slide after steep fall in quarterly profit

STORY: Shares in Chinese auto giant BYD slid on Monday (September 1).

Investors sold off after the electric vehicle maker reported quarterly profit fell for the first time in more than three years.

Analysts said its competitive advantage was hurt by Chinese government efforts to stop a price war.

Net profit at the world's biggest EV producer dropped 30% in the second quarter to $895 million from a year earlier.

That followed a doubling of profit in the first quarter.

Its Hong Kong-listed shares closed more than 5% lower after an 8% drop at the open.

BYD has grown its sales rapidly in recent years partly through aggressive price cuts.

But Chinese authorities have grown worried about the health of the sector and ordered automakers to stop the practice.

BYD further reported Monday its production slid for a second straight month in August.

It was the automaker's first consecutive monthly contraction in five years.

BYD made just over 353,000 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids globally last month. Related Videos

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That was down close to 3.8% from a year earlier, and follows a 0.9% drop in July.

BYD is targeting global sales of 5.5 million cars this year.

But it has sold just 2.49 million as of end of July, equal to 45% of its goal.

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