BYD, the Chinese carmaker backed by billionaire US investor Warren Buffett, picked a brand name that stands for “Build Your Dreams”, but over the past year many of its dreams have become fantasy.

The Shenzhen-based company, which makes conventional and electric vehicles, last year predicted it would sell 800,000 cars. It later scaled down its forecast to 600,000, but missed that target despite breakneck growth in the Chinese auto market. It has repeatedly said exports of its electric cars to the US were on the horizon, but has repeatedly moved that horizon.

After rapidly expanding its dealer network to cover some of China’s smallest cities, BYD reversed course. According to the Chinese media, it now plans to fire as many as two-thirds of its 2,600-strong salesforce. Several senior executives have quit and net profit fell 89 per cent in the first half of 2011, compared with the same period last year.