(Yicai) Dec. 4 -- BYD is cutting the price of its electric cars by as much as CNY20,000 (USD2,800) each as the Chinese new energy vehicle and battery maker opens the throttle to meet its annual sales goals.

The price of the luxury sedan BYD Han has been trimmed by up to CNY20,000, lowering the price to CNY200,000 (USD28,119), according to the price cuts announced by the company on Dec. 1. The plug-in hybrid Qin Plus DM-i is now CNY10,000 (USD1,405) cheaper, with a starting price of CNY89,800 (USD12,623). And other models in its Dynasty marque have had their prices trimmed by between CNY6,000 (USD843) and CNY15,000.

BYD has to shift over 300,000 units in both November and December to reach its annual target of 3 million autos. This is a tall order as the Shenzhen-based carmaker’s sales only topped 300,000 for the first time in October. Between January and October, BYD sold 2.37 million vehicles.

The price war in China’s auto market, which saw the price of the Qin Plus DM-i fall below CNY100,000 for the first time earlier this year, is set to get worse in December as competition intensifies. Only Li Auto and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group were able to achieve 80 percent of their annual sales targets in the first 10 months. SAIC Motor, Great Wall Motor, Dongfeng Motor Group, Leap Motor, Xpeng Motors as well as Nio only managed less than 70 percent.

Jiyue Auto, a joint venture between Chinese search engine giant Baidu and Hangzhou-based Geely, launched its first vehicle in October, costing between CNY14,000 (USD2,000) and CNY24,000 less than equivalent versions of US electric car startup Tesla’s Model Y. But a month later it was already reducing the price.

Jiyue Auto is trimming the price of the Jiyue 01 by CNY30,000 (USD4,218), Chief Executive Officer Xia Yiping said on Nov. 30. Its vehicles will now cost between CNY219,900 (USD31,000) and CNY309,900, which is even lower than that of EV marque IM LS6, manufactured by a JV between SAIC Motor, Zhangjiang High-Tech Park and Alibaba Group Holding.

Next year, competition in the auto market will become even fiercer, Xia said.

Editors：Shi Yi, Kim Taylor