HONG KONG (Reuters) -Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Co ( BYDDF ) forecast exports will make up about 20% of its global sales this year helped by new model launches, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday.

BYD forecasts 800,000 to 1 million deliveries outside mainland China in 2025, compared with projected total sales of 4.6 million units, the newspaper said, citing BYD's general manager of branding and public relations Li Yunfei.

That confirmed a Reuters report earlier this month that BYD has slashed its sales target for 2025 by up to 16% to 4.6 million vehicles as the Chinese EV company faces its slowest annual growth in five years and other signs that its era of record-setting expansion could be drawing to a close.

"International deliveries will make a greater contribution in the years to come," Li said, according to the SCMP, adding BYD's own fleet of car-carrier ships supported the export surge.

In 2024, BYD's sales outside the mainland accounted for less than 10% of its total of 4.26 million deliveries, the newspaper said.