BYD has entered Egypt with a launch event at its first Technology Center in Cairo, becoming the latest Chinese carmaker to expand its presence in North Africa.
The company debuted in the Egyptian market the same week as the Beijing-based carmaker Li Auto, which opened its first two stores in the country last Friday.
BYD‘s main brand partnered with the local conglomerate Mansour Group to become its distributor in the country.
The group also represents Japanese automotive brand Isuzu and other major brands, including Opel, Peugeot, Chevrolet, Cadillac, MG, and General Motors Truck Company (GMC).
BYD introduced three new energy (NEV) models to Egyptian customers: the fully electric Dolphin Surf affordable compact vehicle, Sealion 6 SUV, and the Sealion 6 DM-i plug-in hybrid (PHEV) compact SUV.
BYD became the world’s leading EV maker last year, due to the global launch of its Dolphin Surf model — known as Seagull in China — last May, the surge in overseas sales, and the expansion of its presence into multiple new markets.
Sales and Exports
Throughout 2025, the company sold a total of 4,602,436 vehicles across the globe, representing a 7.7% increase compared to 2024.
The automaker met its revised annual target of 4.6 million units, which was initially set at 5.5 million deliveries, but was cut last September. However, it saw its slowest growth in five years.
Of the total sales, exports more than doubled (150.7%) year-over-year to 1,049,601 NEVs.
In late January, BYD‘s General Manager and Public Relations Division Li Yunfei said that the brand aims to sell 1.3 million vehicles overseas this year, up 24.3% from 2025.
The company has not yet announced an annual delivery target for 2026.
In the first month of this year, 205,518 units were registered, marking the brand’s lowest results since February 2024 and its fifth consecutive month of year-on-year sales decreases.
The figures fell 30.7% from the 296,446 units registered in January 2025 and halved (50.5%) month-over-month.
Global Expansion
In 2025, BYD operated across “six continents, in 110 different countries,” a research note from Piper Sandler’s analyst Alexander Potter mentioned.
With its entrance in Egypt, BYD grew its presence to “30 countries and regions across the Middle East and Africa”.
The Chinese company corroborated that it will proceed to bet on those regions in the future.
“Looking ahead, BYD will continue to strengthen cooperation with its partners to further expand its footprint in the Middle East and Africa, offering a broader range of sustainable mobility solutions and contributing to the transition toward low-carbon transportation,” the brand stated.
Specifically in the Middle East, the Chinese company expanded into Iraq last December, through a strategic partnership with the automotive distribution company Noor Al Jazeera (NAT).
The brand inaugurated its showroom in the capital of Baghdad on December 14, introducing the Shark 6 PHEV pickup.
BYD also expanded into several South American markets last year, including Argentina, where it sold out for 2025 before last October’s market launch. Last month, the company shipped 5,800 NEVs into the country.
