BYD in 2026: Overseas Revenue Overtakes China as Net Profit Falls

BYD’s overseas revenue overtook its revenue from China for the first time in the first half of 2026. The automaker sold 792,256 vehicles outside its home market over the six months, up 70.6% year on year. Registrations and revenue in China both fell.

China Slows as Overseas Sales Grow

BYD vehicle registrations in China fell 45.9% year on year in the first half of 2026. Revenue in its home market fell 31% over the same period.

Overseas, the automaker sold 792,256 vehicles and generated more revenue than it did in China. That marks a change in the geographic distribution of revenue, but it does not automatically mean the same split applies to vehicle volumes: revenue and unit sales are different measures.

Sales in July and August

The summer figures fall outside the first half of the year. In July and August 2026, BYD sold a combined 844,456 vehicles worldwide, up 18.5% year on year. Sales of battery-electric models rose 29.6% over the same period.

According to export figures, August was a record month: 190,000 vehicles were shipped overseas at the beginning of the month, an increase of 134% year on year. Exports and overseas sales do not necessarily measure the same thing, so the figures cannot be used interchangeably.

Plug-in Hybrid Sales Fell

BYD’s plug-in hybrid sales fell in 2025, declining 7.9% year on year to 2,288,709 vehicles. The decline continued in 2026: sales through August reached 1,265,017, down 11.2%.

The trend for plug-in hybrids therefore differed from the growth in battery-electric models recorded in July and August. The sales figures alone do not explain why customers chose one powertrain over another.

Higher Gross Margin, Lower Net Profit

BYD Group’s gross margin rose from 18.01% to 18.85% in the first half of 2026. Its overseas business achieved a gross margin of 22%, higher than the group-wide figure. Gross margin is the share of revenue left after the cost of goods and services sold; it does not account for all the company’s other expenses.

Despite the higher gross margin, group net profit fell 20.5% to 12.3 billion yuan. A higher gross margin did not, on its own, translate into higher net profit. The net profit figure is for the entire group, not the Chinese market alone.