BYD’s Twin Fortunes: Record Exports Abroad as Domestic Profits Tumble 55%

BYD's first-quarter net profit fell 55% to $597M amid China's price war, while international sales surged 71% in April, led by Europe and Australia.

The Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD is living a tale of two markets. While its international operations are firing on all cylinders—with sales surging across Europe, Australia, and the UK—the home front tells a starkly different story. The company’s first-quarter net profit plunged 55% to 4.09 billion renminbi (roughly $597 million), as a brutal price war and fading government subsidies squeezed margins to the bone.

Revenue for the three months ended March fell nearly 12% to 150.2 billion renminbi, marking the third consecutive quarterly decline. Per-vehicle profitability has shriveled to less than 6,000 renminbi, underscoring the structural damage from China’s relentless discounting battle. Rivals Leapmotor and Zeekr both posted record delivery numbers in April, nibbling away at BYD’s domestic market share.

The pain extended into April, when BYD sold 314,100 electric vehicles in China—a 15.7% drop year-on-year and the eighth straight month of declining passenger car sales at home. Cumulative sales for the first four months of 2026 reached roughly 1.02 million units, well below the 1.38 million recorded in the same period last year.

Yet the export engine is roaring. In April, BYD shipped 135,098 vehicles abroad—a new all-time high—representing about 43% of total monthly volume. Global deliveries for the month hit 321,123 units, though that still represented a 15.5% year-on-year decline due to the domestic drag. International sales alone surged 71% from a year earlier to 134,542 units.

Europe is proving a particularly bright spot. BYD has become the best-selling pure-electric brand in the UK during the first four months of 2026, with 12,754 BEV registrations capturing over 7% of that segment. Including plug-in hybrids, its UK market share climbs to 9.5% across nearly 26,400 units. In April alone, BYD registered 5,059 new vehicles in Britain—more than double the prior year—while Tesla managed just 831.

The European gains are broad-based. Germany saw registrations jump 201% to 4,709 units in April. Italy posted a 172% surge to 4,572, Spain climbed 161% to 4,039, and Australia—where BYD leapfrogged to become the second-best-selling brand in April—recorded a 140% rise to 7,702 units. Even Switzerland, a smaller market, saw sales rocket from 14 to 555 vehicles.

To sustain this momentum, BYD is investing heavily in charging infrastructure. Vice President Stella Li has outlined plans to build 3,000 fast-charging stations across Europe within a year, while the company’s factory in Hungary is on track to begin full production in the third quarter of 2026. In China, BYD aims to erect 20,000 fast-charging points, and in France, its dealer network is set to expand from 90 to 200 locations by year-end.

The company is also exploring a North American entry, with reports suggesting a factory and a network of 20 dealers in Canada, aided by recent tariff adjustments in the region. For the full year, BYD targets 1.5 million export vehicles.

On the technology front, BYD continues to invest despite trimming R&D spending by roughly 20% to 11.3 billion renminbi in the first quarter. The second-generation Blade battery offers 5% greater energy density, and a new 1,500-kilowatt charging system can take a battery from 10% to 70% in five minutes.

CLSA reaffirmed its stance on the stock following the quarterly results, with analysts expecting some easing of pressure later this year but describing the environment as still strained. At Tradegate, BYD shares traded at €11.15, down 0.57%.

Whether the international business can scale fast enough to offset the margin erosion in China will become clearer when half-year figures are released. For now, BYD’s global ambitions are running at full throttle—but the home market remains a stubborn anchor.