BYD’s Luxury Push Draws 100,000 Pre-Orders Even as AGM Weighs 20% Share Dilution

BYD unveils Great Han and Datang luxury EVs with 100K pre-orders, but shareholder votes on massive share/debt issuance risk diluting holders as H-shares near 52-week low.

BYD is charging into the premium segment with two new models, but the headlines from its Shenzhen shareholder meeting tell a different story. The Great Han sedan and the Datang SUV have racked up more than 100,000 pre-orders in their first two weeks. The company has released official images of the Great Han, a D?class flagship due in the third quarter as both a plug-in hybrid and a pure electric vehicle, while the Datang luxury SUV goes on sale June 17. To justify the higher price tags, BYD is taking the unusual step of assuming full liability for accidents when drivers use its “God’s Eye” urban assist system, backed by a new in-house 4?nanometer chip for highly automated driving.

But the boardroom agenda in Shenzhen points to a far more defensive posture. Shareholders are voting on two authorizations that could significantly dilute existing holders. The first allows BYD to issue up to 20% of its current H?share float — around 737 million new shares. The second permits the issuance of up to 50 billion renminbi in debt instruments, including corporate bonds, short-term notes and convertible bonds. The proceeds would be used for working capital and investments. On top of that, a guarantee framework of up to 150 billion renminbi for subsidiaries and associates will be put to a vote, adding further balance-sheet risk.

The timing is brutal for a stock already trading near multi-year lows. At around €9.72, BYD’s H?shares are just 2.2% above the 52-week low of €9.51. The stock has shed roughly 78% of its value since the June 2025 high of €44.99 and lost nearly 12% in the past 30 days alone. Despite that, most analysts retain buy ratings, betting the export surge can eventually turn the tide.

The numbers paint a starkly split picture. Overseas deliveries reached 160,644 vehicles in May, an 80% jump year?on?year, and exports now account for 42% of total sales. Domestically, however, BYD sold only 222,809 units, a 24% drop from a year earlier — the thirteenth consecutive monthly decline. Over the first five months, total sales of 1.405 million units still lag the prior-year period by more than 20%. Meanwhile, the Chinese EV market as a whole grew 12% in May, meaning BYD is rapidly ceding home-market share, precisely where it built its dominance. First?quarter net profit collapsed 55% to 4.09 billion yuan, and revenue also shrank.

The shareholder meeting also addresses dividends. Management is proposing a final payout of 0.358 renminbi per share, totalling roughly 3.26 billion renminbi. The ex-dividend date is June 11, with book closure from June 15 to 18 and payment by the end of July. Non-resident corporate shareholders face a 10% withholding tax, while individual investors under the South-bound programme pay 20%; foreign retail investors are temporarily exempt.

With the premium model offensive, BYD is trying to lift margins amid a brutal price war at home. The Datang and Great Han represent its best chance to escape the domestic profit squeeze. But the capital-raising plans threaten to dilute those very same shareholders who are being asked to approve them. The next few days — especially after the ex-dividend date on Wednesday — will reveal whether the promise of luxury sales or the reality of dilution drives the stock’s next move.