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.

China's 4S dealership model, once a cash cow in the early 2000s, is unraveling under mounting pressure. The sector, which peaked around 2017, has been hit hard by fierce price wars and a market pivot toward domestic new energy vehicles (NEVs).