BYD’s Dividends and Megabatteries Can’t Halt the Stock’s Slide

BYD shares fall 15.5% YTD to €9.26 amid US blacklist and EV slowdown, even as it launches record storage projects and absorbs self-driving accident liability.

BYD is making moves on multiple fronts — rewarding shareholders, plugging into grid-scale storage, and even absorbing liability for autonomous driving accidents. Yet none of that is stopping the stock from plumbing fresh depths. Shares touched a new 2024 low of €9.21 on Tuesday, deepening a year-to-date decline that now stands at 15.5%. At €9.26 the ADR-style price remains well adrift of the €14.80 peak, with the relative strength index flashing an oversold reading of 30.2.

The dividend path is now set. Shareholders approved the payout at the annual general meeting on June 9. For the last fiscal year BYD will distribute RMB 0.358 per share. The record date is June 18, after which the H-share register will close. Payments default to Hong Kong dollars at exactly HKD 0.41141 per stub, though investors can opt for renminbi by instructing their bank before July 8. The actual remittance begins on July 31. None of that clarity has provided floor for the stock.

While the EV slowdown dominates headlines, BYD is quietly building a giant in energy storage. Mid-June saw the commissioning of the Elena storage station in Chile’s Atacama Desert. With a capacity of 3.5 GWh, it is the largest single storage project anywhere in the Americas. In Europe the company partnered with Greenvolt Power on a roughly 100-MW facility in Buj, Hungary, using BYD’s proprietary MC-Cube technology to stabilise the continental grid.

On the autonomous driving front, BYD is taking a bold stance. In China it now assumes full liability for accidents involving its urban assistance system “God’s Eye.” The guarantee covers the first year after delivery or a software update. Similar promises have already pushed the usage rate for automatic parking features from 21% to 93%. The system is powered by the new XUANJI A3 chip, a compact processor enabling highly automated functions. Over three million BYD vehicles already carry such assistance technology on Chinese roads.

Geopolitical headwinds continue to weigh. In mid-June the US Department of Defense added BYD to a blacklist, alleging ties to China’s military — a charge Beijing’s commerce ministry swiftly denounced. The company is also exploring alternative investor channels: cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io now lists BYD stock, giving crypto traders direct access. Meanwhile, management is negotiating with Canadian authorities for market entry, with Ottawa demanding local component sourcing and stringent data protection.

The operational pipeline remains thick. BYD is developing sodium-ion batteries for stationary storage, targeting extremely low costs by 2027. On the vehicle side, the plug-in hybrid Denza N8L is set to debut on June 23. Yet for now, the sheer breadth of the EV sell-off and political uncertainty are drowning out all the positive news.