China’s top maker of electric vehicles (EV) wants to pay a lot less for car parts in the new year, a demand that signals there is no end in sight to a vicious price war nor economic gloom marked by lower wages and uncertain prospects.

BYD Co. has asked suppliers to accept price cuts next year in a signal the Chinese electric vehicle maker is preparing for the brutal price war in the world’s biggest auto market to intensify.

Chinese automaker BYD is asking its suppliers to cut their prices, in a sign that a brutal price war in the world's largest auto market is set to escalate.

BYD moves to shield itself from looming US tariffs as President-Elect Trump threatens new import taxes on Chinese, Canadian, and Mexican goods. The China-based EV giant has reportedly ordered suppliers to slash costs by 10% starting in 2025.

SAIC Motor Corp.’s Maxus brand has joined market leader BYD Co. in seeking a 10% price cut from suppliers, another sign China’s auto price war will continue into next year.

An executive from BYD said on Wednesday the Chinese automaker sets price reduction targets for suppliers when making large-scale purchases but these are negotiable and not mandatory. The comments from Brand and Public Relations Department general manager Li Yunfei on his Weibo account followed reports the Chinese automaker had told a supplier to cut prices by 10%.