Shenzhen-listed shares of BYD Group fell over 4.2% on Monday, closing at 87.05 yuan — the lowest price in 16 months — a day after the company reported its weakest sales figures in nearly two years.
The Hong Kong-listed shares dropped to their lowest point in 12 months, closing nearly 7% lower at HK$91.
BYD sold 205,518 passenger vehicles in January, its lowest sales figures since February 2024.
Registrations declined 30.7% from the 296,446 units registered a year ago and halved from December 2025, when 414,784 vehicles were sold.
While the sequential decrease is expected due to the typical slowdown in auto sales at the beginning of the year, BYD is also facing deeper challenges, as January marked its fifth consecutive month of year-over-year sales declines.
The company sold 4,602,436 new energy vehicles globally in 2025, a 7.7% increase year-over-year, meeting its revised annual target while posting the slowest growth in five years.
China’s giant initially aimed at delivering 5.5 million vehicles in 2025, a target that was trimmed by nearly 1 million in September — to 4.6 million units.
The company has not yet announced a delivery guidance for 2026.
BEV Sales
In January, BYD sold 83,249 battery electric vehicles (BEV), while registrations of plug-in hybrid models (PHEV) stood at 122,269 units.
With the introduction of new fully electric models, expansion into new markets, and support for EV incentives across several countries — including China — the company’s fully electric sales exceeded those of its plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) in 2025.
Between April and November, BYD registered more BEVs than PHEVs.
Fully electric sales fell below plug-in hybrids in December, however, with an extended decline in January.
A few weeks ago, BYD’s upcoming flagship sedan — the Seal 08 — was spotted in China ahead of its debut, which is scheduled for this quarter, alongside the Sealion 08 SUV.
The Seal 08 is anticipated to be offered in both BEV and PHEV versions. It remains unclear whether the model will be expanded overseas.
Overseas Sales
BYD registered 100,009 new energy vehicles across its overseas markets last month, a 51.5% increase year over year.
Compared to December, when the company set a new record with 133,172 vehicles exported, the figures tumbled 24.6%.
After previously selling a record 90,049 units in June, the company surpassed 100,000 overseas sales in November, following three consecutive months of around 80,000 units each.
BYD aims to achieve 1.3 million sales outside China this year, a 24.3% increase from the nearly 1.05 million exports recorded in 2025.
Last year’s figures represented a 150% increase year over year. As of the end of 2025, the company was present across 110 countries.
Production
BYD is also expanding its manufacturing footprint across the globe.
Overseas factories in Thailand, Uzbekistan and Brazil expected to provide 300,000 units per year of combined capacity.
This week, BYD held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new battery manufacturing plant in Vietnam, developed in partnership with local manufacturer Kim Long Motor Automotive.
According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, the Chinese giant is also considering setting up local assembly operations in India to meet rising demand for its electric vehicles while being able to bypass the country’s high import tariffs.
In Europe, BYD is nearly finishing construction of its factory in Hungary.
Trial operations began last week, and production is scheduled to begin in the second quarter.
According to a Piper Sandler research note sent to clients late last year, the company is also considering additional manufacturing sites in Malaysia, Cambodia, and Japan.
A third production location for the Old Continent — following Hungary and Turkey — is under review in Southern Europe, with Spain and Portugal as the leading candidates.
The company recently debuted the hybrid Atto 2 at the Brussels Auto Show, after the model’s launch in Spain last November.
The model is expected to hit showrooms later this month.
