BYD misses sales targets

SALES of BYD vehicles have reached record levels Down Under while head office in China struggles to achieve downward revised international sales targets attributed to reduced government subsidies on the domestic Chinese market – and an end to discounting through threatened government-imposed penalties.

BYD’s multi powertrain line-up in Australia allowed China’s number one carmaker to accelerate sales here last year with deliveries surging past 50,000 (52,415) for the first time on an increase sales rate of 156 per cent from 20,458 in 2024.

The result elevated BYD to eighth overall in the Aussie pecking order thanks to its popular range of passenger and light commercial vehicles across fully electric and hybrid powertrains.

But the elephant in the room for BYD is its global passenger car sales performance that saw a weakening outlook on the back of reduced sales to about 4.6 million units globally in 2025 (down 897,564 units from BYD’s own forecast), with the slide commencing in H2 last year.

carnewschina (CNC) reported that global BYD passenger vehicle sales in December 2025 slipped 18.6 per cent (to 414,784 units) compared to December 2024 and were down 12.7 per cent on November 2025 figures.

The downward sales trend represented the fourth month of consecutive year-on-year decline while conversely overseas sales reached record-breaking 133,172 vehicles in December, up 133 per cent from 2024.

In its report, CNC said that last December, BYD sold 190,712 battery electric vehicles (BEVs), down 8.2 per cent 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 and the third in July 2024), otherwise there was only YoY growth since 2021,” the report stated.

BEVs weren’t the only models with declining sales as BYD’s PHEV sales of 224,072 units were down 25.7 per cent YoY. CNC pointed out that this is the ninth consecutive month of PHEV sales decline, which started in April.

BEVs accounted for 49.6 per cent of BYD’s 2025 sales while PHEVs accounted for 50.4 per cent, a significant “improvement” over 2024, when BEVs were only 41.5 per cent of company sales.

BYD’s overseas sales surpassed one million units for the first time, reaching 1,046,083 units sold outside China, up 150.7 per cent from 2024 pointing to an area where BYD may make gains on the sales charts.

CNC predicts 2026 is going to be even more challenging for the largest Chinese NEV maker with falling domestic sales as the Chinese government now scrutinises their primary sales incentive of massive discounts.

Not to mention dozens of budget EVs from other brands flooding the Chinese domestic market…

Meanwhile, back home in Australia, the introduction of the fully-electric Sealion 7 family SUV and Shark 6 dual cab pickup DM-O Super Hybrid accounted for most of the growth, winning over 13,410 and 18,073 Australian customers respectively in their first year.

BYD Australia COO Stephen Collins said the brand is set to continue its trajectory in 2026 with the introduction of exciting new models suited to Australian customers.

“BYD’s growth has been genuine, driven by great quality vehicles with world-leading battery-electric powertrains, unmatched style and comfort, and at prices suited to Australian families and younger buyers looking to purchase their first new energy vehicle,” he stated.

Spearheading the range early in 2026 will be the fully-electric Atto 1 compact hatch that will be joined in Q1 by the Sealion 5 – BYD’s most-affordable plug-in hybrid SUV – and the seven-seat Sealion 8 which is expected to become the brand’s best-selling model.

Mr. Collins said the rapid expansion of the BYD dealer network has been instrumental in the brand’s rise, while noting that growing pains remain.

“We continue to work tirelessly to build a strong BYD dealer network that meets the needs of customers, both in terms of vehicle sales, and importantly, vehicle servicing,” he added.

“While we took a huge step forward in 2025 by increasing servicing capacity markedly, we acknowledge there is still much to be done. We thank customers for their patience.”

BYD Australia more than doubled its network in 2025, finishing the year with nearly 100 authorised dealers.