BYD vehicle sales fall for fifth consecutive month

BYD’s vehicle sales declined by 30.1% in January from a year earlier, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline, according to a market filing.

The company sold 210,051 vehicles globally last month, with 100,482 new energy vehicles exported.

Production dropped 29.1%, continuing a downward trend since July 2025. Sales of plug-in hybrid cars, which account for over half of BYD’s total sales, fell 28.5% in January, following a 7.9% decline in 2025.

The company has revised its 2026 overseas shipment target to 1.3 million vehicles, down from an earlier goal of 1.6 million, without citing reasons.

BYD plans to open new EV plants in Hungary, Indonesia, and Turkey, and expand manufacturing in Brazil and Thailand.

Last year, BYD surpassed Tesla as the world’s top EV seller, though it narrowly met its 4.6 million units global sales target for 2025.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

BYD sales fall as China competition heats up and plug-in hybrids cool

January sales fell again in a tougher China market. From July to September 2025, BYD’s EV volumes in China dropped 19.4% year on year, based on EV Volumes data cited by Autovista24 1.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) make up over half of BYD’s total sales. In China, year-on-year PHEV growth slowed to 0.4% in September 2025, based on EV Volumes data cited by Autovista24 1.
That pressure helps explain BYD’s push abroad. It said overseas sales passed 1 million units in 2025, up 150% from the previous year 2.

European plants tie into BYD plans for tariffs and shifting rules

BYD cut its 2026 overseas shipment target to 1.3 million vehicles from 1.6 million. It plans new EV plants in Hungary, Indonesia, and Turkey, plus expansion in Brazil and Thailand.
The European Union charges a 17% countervailing duty on BYD’s battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) imported from China under its anti-subsidy measures 3.
EU guidance on settling the dispute over Chinese EV imports says it will weigh Chinese EV maker investments inside the EU when setting minimum import prices 4.
Building cars in Europe could limit exposure to EU tariffs on China-origin BEV imports. The final impact still depends on rules-of-origin and how any minimum import price regime works in practice 3.