BYD generated more revenue outside China than in its home market in the first half of 2026, according to company filings released on August 28. Overseas revenue reached 181.3 billion yuan, or about $27 billion, up 34% year over year and equal to 53% of total revenue. Revenue from China fell 31% year over year during the same period, while overall revenue declined 7.1% to 344.8 billion yuan, or about $50.9 billion. Net profit attributable to shareholders dropped 20.5% to 12.3 billion yuan, or about $1.8 billion.
The company’s domestic performance weakened as BYD-branded vehicle registrations in China fell to 795,169 units in the first half of the year, down 45.9% from a year earlier, according to insurance registration data monitored by China EV DataTracker. Other Group brands performed better in the Chinese market, including Fang Cheng Bao, which registered 131,000 vehicles in the first half, up 115% year over year, but those gains were not enough to offset the decline in the main BYD brand.
Outside China, BYD sold 792,256 vehicles in the first half of 2026, up 70.6% year over year. The company said overseas operations also supported profitability, with gross margin rising to 18.85% from 18.01% a year earlier. Gross margin in overseas business reached 22%, an increase of 1.9 percentage points.
BYD’s plug-in hybrid electric vehicle sales have been under pressure. The company sold 2,288,709 PHEVs in 2025, down 7.9% from 2024, and sold 1,265,017 PHEVs from January through August 2026, down 11.2% year over year. At the same time, sales momentum improved in July and August, when BYD sold 844,456 vehicles globally, up 18.5% year over year. BEV sales rose 29.6% in that period, while PHEV sales increased 6%.
The broader Chinese passenger vehicle market also remained weak, with retail sales down 21.1% year over year in July, the tenth consecutive monthly decline, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Passenger vehicle exports from China rose 88.2%.
BYD is expanding sales and production in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Brazil has become its largest market outside China, and the company is also building manufacturing capacity in Brazil, Hungary, and Turkey.
Source: Car News China
