Chinese giant automaker BYD sold 376,990 passenger vehicles in May, essentially flat from the 376,930 units delivered in the same month a year ago.
The figures snapped eight consecutive months of year-over-year declines that had weighed on the automaker since October 2025.
The result was, however, only made possible by a new overseas record of over 160,000 units — which offset a continued domestic decline to just above 216,000 vehicles.
Sales outside China surged to 160,644 vehicles in May, an 80% year-over-year increase and a new all-time monthly record.
The brand had already reached a record in April, with a 134,542-unit figure, surpassing December 2025’s previous high of 133,172 units.
May figures represented a 19.4% sequential increase from April and doubled from the 89,047 vehicles shipped overseas in May 2025.
Overseas volume accounted for approximately 42.6% of total May sales — roughly in line with April’s 42.8% share and well above the roughly 23.6% overseas mix in May 2025.
Overseas Guidance
Through the first five months of 2026, BYD sold approximately 615,900 vehicles outside China, up around 65% from roughly 374,200 units in the same period a year earlier.
The pace puts the company comfortably ahead of its 1.5 million-unit overseas target for 2026, which was raised from 1.3 million units earlier in the year.
BYD needs to sell approximately 884,100 vehicles outside China over the remaining seven months — an average monthly pace of around 126,300 units, consistent with the first five months.
Management flagged potential upside risk to the overseas target during a post-holiday investor call last month, citing robust demand following the recent oil price hike.
However, the company emphasized that its fleet of eight car-carrying vessels — with a combined annual capacity exceeding one million vehicles — is ready to support the push.
Europe has been central to the acceleration, as the Shenzhen-based automaker prepares to launch its first European-focused model — the Dolphin G — this summer.
First-quarter EU registrations rose 170% year over year to 50,646 units, lifting BYD’s market share to 1.8%.
In Germany, the company set a new monthly record in April with 4,705 registrations — more than tripling year over year — while year-to-date registrations through four months surged nearly 400% to 13,825 units.
BYD has also been expanding its manufacturing and distribution footprint outside China.
The company began trial production at its first European passenger vehicle factory in Szeged, Hungary, in January, with series production expected in the second quarter.
BYD’s Executive VP Stella Li revealed last month that the company is in talks with Stellantis to acquire idle plants in Europe for local production.
Its $1 billion Indonesia plant is on track for a third-quarter production start, and additional plants operate in Thailand, Brazil, and Uzbekistan.
BYD leadership has previously outlined a long-term target of 10 million annual vehicle sales, with roughly half coming from outside China.
Domestic Pressure
The overseas strength continued to mask weakness at home.
Domestic passenger vehicle sales fell to an estimated 216,300 units in May — a roughly 25% decline from approximately 287,900 units in May 2025, based on the difference between total and overseas volume in the total released by the brand.
China’s Passenger Car Association (CPCA) usually breaks down sales figures by domestic registrations and exports later in the month.
Through the first five months of 2026, BYD‘s domestic sales totaled approximately 764,200 units, down about 44% from roughly 1.36 million units in the same period a year earlier.
Chairman Wang Chuanfu warned in March that competition in China’s EV market had reached “fever pitch,” describing the sector as undergoing a “knockout stage.”
BYD has guided to domestic sales of 3.5 million to 4.0 million units this year, representing growth of 0% to 14%.
Full-Year Guidance
Through the first five months of 2026, BYD has sold approximately 1.38 million passenger vehicles, compared with roughly 1.74 million in the same period of 2025 — a decline of around 20%.
The company’s full-year guidance of 5.0 to 5.5 million vehicles implies it needs to sell between approximately 3.62 million and 4.12 million units over the remaining seven months — an average monthly pace of roughly 517,000 to 589,000 vehicles.
It would represent a significant step-up from the approximately 276,000 monthly average recorded through the first five months.
The automaker reported a 55% year-over-year decline in net profit in the first quarter of 2026 — the lowest in more than three years — with earnings falling to 4.08 billion yuan ($561 million).
It had already posted its first annual profit decline in four years for 2025, when net profit fell 19% despite a record 4.6 million units sold.
