Key facts
- BYD's new-vehicle sales decreased by 16% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, totaling 1.8 million units.
- This is the first time BYD has experienced a sales decline in the January-June period in six years.
- The automaker has reduced its full-year sales target by 16% to 4.6 million units.
- BYD's monthly sales in September 2025 declined for the first time in over 18 months.
- BYD's production has contracted for two consecutive months as of August 2025.
- The company reported its first quarterly profit decline in over three years, a drop of 30%.
BYD's new-vehicle sales fell 16% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, reaching 1.8 million units. This marks the first decline for the January-June period in six years, signaling a slowdown in the Chinese electric vehicle market. The company has also significantly reduced its annual sales target by 16% to 4.6 million units.
In September 2025, BYD's monthly shipments declined 5.5% to 396,270 units, the first on-year contraction in over 18 months. This comes amid fierce competition in China's EV market, where rivals like Geely Automobile Holdings reported 35% growth in September, Xpeng saw deliveries soar 95%, and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology increased sales by 97%.
BYD's production has contracted for two consecutive months as of August 2025, the first such occurrence since 2020. The company also recently reported a 30% drop in quarterly profit, its first decline in more than three years. The revised annual sales target of 4.6 million vehicles represents a 7% increase from the previous year, but would be BYD's slowest annual growth since 2020.
Analysts from Deutsche Bank and Morningstar had previously forecast BYD to sell 4.7 million and 4.8 million vehicles, respectively, for the year. BYD's sales of economy cars, which constitute the bulk of its domestic sales, fell 9.6% in July compared to the previous year, while Geely's sales in the same segment jumped 90%.