China's BYD makes big cuts to auto sales targets

SHANGHAI — Chinese automaker BYD Co. -- backed by US billionaire Warren Buffett -- on Wednesday cut its 2010 sales target by 25 percent, as demand in the world's largest auto market shows new signs of slowing.The announcement comes after BYD said last month it would delay its planned 420-million-dollar mainland listing due to concerns about the weak stock market.BYD, which sold 289,014 vehicles in the first half, or 36 percent of its original full-year target of 800,000 units, said it now aimed to sell 600,000 vehicles in 2010, according to a statement from the company.The company sold nearly 450,000 vehicles in 2009, or 1.7 times the sales volume the previous year, on strong demand for its popular F3 sedan.However, Wang Jianjun, a spokesman at BYD's auto sales unit, said in the statement he expected government subsidies for fuel-efficient and green energy cars were likely to boost its sales in the second half of the year.China announced plans in June to offer subsidies of 3,000 yuan (442.5 dollars) for purchases of cars that have 1.6 litre or smaller engines and consume 20 percent less fuel than current standards.The official Shanghai Securities News reported Wednesday that the government would spend over 100 billion yuan subsidising vehicles using green energy in the next ten years, citing a draft plan by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.China overtook the United States for the first time last year to become the world's biggest vehicle market, but data shows that China's sales have started to slow in recent months.The nation's auto sales in July totalled 1.06 million units, up 17.2 percent from a year earlier, but down 6.7 percent from the previous month, according to figures from the China Automotive Technology and Research Centre.Buffett put BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, into the international spotlight when he bought a nearly 10 percent stake in the company in 2008.In May, BYD and German luxury car maker Daimler announced a joint venture to mass produce an electric car i

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