(Yicai Global) April 25 -- Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturer BYD intends to spend as much as CNY1.85 billion (USD282 million) over a 12-month period to repurchase some of its stock for free distribution among key employees in order to retain talent amid stiff competition.

The shares will be distributed among 12,000 mid-to-top level managers and core staff members as part of an employee equity incentive plan, the Shenzhen-based firm said on April 22. Each employee participating in the scheme will be given around CNY150,000 (USD22,915) worth of stock, according to Yicai Global calculations.

The stock ownership plan is a long-term incentive to retain staff and activate BYD’s innovation ability, maintain its competitive edge and raise the company’s value, the firm said.

Seven percent of the shares will be awarded to fourteen senior managers, including board secretary Li Qian and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Zhou Yalin. Wang Chuanfu, the firm’s chairman and president, is not on the list.

The stock incentive plan is conditional on BYD meeting certain performance targets, it said. Revenue must jump 30 percent this year to CNY28.1 billion (USD4.2 billion), by 20 percent in 2023 to CNY40.5 billion and by 20 percent in 2024 to CNY40.5 billion, it said.

Shenzhen-based BYD has been the country’s best-selling NEV maker for the last nine years. In March, it sold 104,900 electric cars, a new monthly record and an over four-fold gain from the same period last year.

Yet it offers an average salary of just CNY103,300 (USD15,700), low in the industry, according to Yicai Global research. And headhunting is fierce in the NEV industry as startups such as Nio, Xpeng Motors and Li Auto go from strength to strength and tech giants such as Xiaomi and Baidu join the ranks.

BYD’s share price [SHE:002594] slumped 3.36 percent to close at CNY227.50 (USD35) today, giving it a market capitalization of CNY662.3 billion (USD101.3 billion). The Shenzhen Stock Exchange Composite Index tumbled 6.08 percent.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor