BYD sold 4.6 million cars in 2025, but outlook for 2026 weakens

BYD sold 414,784 passenger vehicles globally in December, down 18.6% from the same month last year and down 12.7% from November. This is the fourth month of consecutive year-over-year decline. Overseas sales reached record-breaking 133,172 vehicles in December, up 133% from last year.

In December, BYD sold 190,712 battery electric vehicles (BEVs), down 8.2% from the same month last year (YoY). It is the first YoY decline in 2025 and only the third YoY decline in all-electric vehicle sales in the previous five years (the second was in February 2024 due to CNY, and the third in July 2024, otherwise there was only YoY growth since 2021).

BYD also sold 224,072 plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), down 25.7% year over year. This is the ninth consecutive month of PHEV sales decline, which started in April.

BYD ceased ICE-only vehicle sales in April 2022, focusing only on BEVs and PHEVs.

Note: We track passenger vehicle sales only; together with commercial vehicles and buses, sales are a bit higher – 420,398 units in December and 4,602,436 in 2025.

2025 results

BYD sold 4,550,036 cars in 2025, up 7.1% from 4,250,370 units in 2024. That is far from double or triple-digit percentage growth since 2021.

BYD sold 2,254,714 BEVs, up 27.9% from 2024. PHEV sales reached 2,288,709, down 7.9% from 2024.

BEV now accounts for 49.6% of BYD’s 2025 sales, while PHEV accounts for 50.4%. That is a significant improvement over 2024, when BEVs accounted for only 41.5% of company sales.

BYD’s overseas sales surpassed 1 million for the first time, reaching 1,046,083 units sold outside China, up 150.7% from 2024.

Editor’s comment

Nothing grows forever, and BYD just learned that. BYD’s initial annual target was 5.5 million, with some speculation that it could reach 6.5 million at the beginning of the year. This was corrected to 4.6 million targets in September, which BYD somehow reached.

But 2026 is gonna be even more challenging for the largest Chinese NEV maker. The domestic sales are falling (BYD brand was 35% down in China in November, and it is expected that it will be down over 10% in 2025) as the Chinese government now scrutinizes their primary weapon of massive discounts, and dozens of other EV makers have proved to provide fair enough budget EVs (Geely and Leapmotor are celebrating). Folks in Shenzhen know that their 2026 performance will heavily depend on overseas markets and whether they will be able to continue winning hearts (and wallets) of buyers outside China. We will keep an eye on that.