Founded by Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen in 1995, BYD began as a battery maker before moving into the auto business in 2003. Since then, it has grown into a sprawling industrial group with operations in autos, electronics, new energy, and rail transit.
On the vehicle side, its portfolio now stretches beyond the core BYD brand to include Denza, Fangchengbao, and Yangwang.
In April 2022, the company also made one of the boldest decisions in the modern auto industry when it stopped producing gasoline-only passenger vehicles and shifted fully to battery electric and plug-in hybrid models.
From Battery Specialist To Auto Powerhouse
That transformation helped turn BYD into China’s biggest automaker. Reuters reported that BYD overtook Volkswagen in 2024 to become the top-selling carmaker in China, and it held onto that crown in 2025.
Even so, the picture became much more complicated as last year went on. Reuters said BYD posted its weakest sales growth in five years in 2025, a sign that the company’s huge scale no longer guaranteed easy momentum in a market defined by subsidy changes, relentless price pressure, and more capable domestic rivals.
A Record Global Business Under Pressure At Home
On paper, BYD’s 2025 numbers still look enormous. The company sold 4,602,436 vehicles globally, while overseas sales jumped 150.7% to 1,046,083 units. That export surge became one of the year’s biggest bright spots as BYD leaned harder on international markets to offset a softer home market. But the financial picture was less encouraging.
Reuters reported that net profit fell 19% to $4.72 billion, the company’s first annual profit decline in four years, while revenue growth slowed to 3.5%, its weakest pace in six years. In other words, BYD remained huge, but it was no longer growing at the speed investors had come to expect.
The first quarter of 2026 made that slowdown even more visible. Reuters reported that BYD’s sales fell 30% year over year in the first three months, while March alone marked its seventh straight monthly decline. In China, the pressure was especially obvious. Reuters said Volkswagen reclaimed the top spot in the market in the first two months of 2026; Geely moved ahead as well; Toyota climbed back past BYD; and the Chinese giant slipped to fourth place with a 7.1% share.
The reasons go beyond one bad month. Purchase tax exemptions on EVs have expired, trade-in subsidies have been scaled back, and buyers have started shifting toward more value-conscious, more selective purchasing behavior.
Exports Now Matter More Than Ever
That helps explain why BYD’s focus is increasingly shifting outward. Reuters reported that the company is highly confident it can reach 1.5 million overseas sales in 2026, and management has told analysts that foreign markets could eventually account for about half of the business.
For BYD, that overseas push is no longer just a growth story. It is becoming a strategic necessity. Europe, Southeast Asia, and other international markets now matter not only because they offer expansion but also because they help reduce the company’s dependence on an intensely competitive Chinese market that no longer looks as easy to dominate as it once did.
That is what makes BYD so important right now. It remains one of the most powerful names in the global EV industry, and its scale is still extraordinary. But the latest numbers also show that even China’s biggest new energy vehicle champion is not immune to slowing demand, subsidy changes, margin pressure, and fierce domestic competition.
BYD is still growing into a global force. It is just doing so at a moment when its home market has become much harder to control.
This article originally appeared on Autorepublika.com and has been republished with permission by Guessing Headlights. AI-assisted translation was used, followed by human editing and review.