China’s BYD posts weakest sales growth in five years on growing rivalry at home

BEIJING – Sales growth at BYD slowed to 7.7 per cent in 2025, its weakest pace in five years, as the Chinese electric vehicle maker grappled with growing local competition and a weakening of its technological lead.

BYD’s total sales were down 18.3 per cent in December from a year earlier, extending declines for a fourth month and marking the largest monthly drop in nearly two years, according to data in a stock filing on Jan 1.

For the full year, its sales of battery electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid EVs rose to 4.6 million units, meeting its slashed target. BYD lowered its 2025 sales target by 16 per cent as domestic sales weakened from July onward, challenged by competitors including Geely and Leapmotor in the budget segment.

Price cuts

BYD’s domestic sales fell in 2025 due to its weakening technological leadership, Chinese media outlet Southern Metropolis Daily reported, citing chairman Wang Chuanfu’s comments at an investor conference in December.

Mr Wang said the company would release major innovations in 2026, without elaboration.

BYD offered advanced autonomous driving features on EVs priced as low as US$9,555 (S$12,290) in February and launched two models equipped with ultra-fast charging technology in March. The efforts, however, have done little to shield the company from losing market share to competitors.

BYD’s sweeping price cuts on more than 20 models in May triggered a stock sell-off across the Chinese auto sector and prompted a rare public warning from the chairman of competitor Great Wall Motor, who said the world’s largest auto industry was in an unhealthy state.

BYD subsequently slowed production and delayed capacity expansion plans, Reuters reported in June.

In November, Reuters reported BYD had told some suppliers it wanted to stop using in-house financial notes to pay them, a seismic shift away from a practice that helped power its rise but has been criticised for disadvantaging its parts makers.

Still outsells Tesla

BYD has been increasingly reliant on overseas markets to offset the challenges at home. Its sales abroad in 2025 rose to a record 1,046,083 units, a 150.7 per cent jump from 2024.

The company aims to sell up to 1.6 million cars outside China in 2026, but has not disclosed its overall sales goal.

With a 27.9 per cent increase in battery EV sales to 2.26 million units in 2025,

BYD is poised to outsell Tesla for the first time in annual sales

, buoyed by robust growth in Europe, where BYD has been significantly outpacing the US automaker.

Tesla was expected to deliver 1.64 million battery EVs in 2025, an 8.3 per cent fall year on year, according to the US EV specialist’s company-compiled delivery consensus.

Tesla’s EVs are priced higher than BYD’s Ocean and Dynasty series. The US automaker’s chief executive Elon Musk has pivoted away from an affordable US$25,000 EV plan in 2024 to bet on artificial intelligence and robotaxi development, which he believes will disrupt the automotive industry. REUTERS