BYD’s Two-Speed Narrative: Dividend Payout Meets a Brutal Home Market

BYD announces final dividend and European van launch amid 53% domestic sales drop and expected 21% revenue decline in Q1 2026 earnings.

The Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD is telling two very different stories right now. On one hand, it is rewarding shareholders with a confirmed final dividend and rolling out a commercial van for Europe. On the other, its home market is punishing it with a near-53% sales plunge, and its upcoming quarterly earnings are expected to show a sharp revenue decline.

The company has officially set its closing dividend for the 2025 financial year at RMB 0.358 per share. Investors need to be on the register by June 18, 2026 to qualify, with the ex-dividend date falling on June 11 and payment scheduled for July 31. H-share holders have the option to receive the payout in either renminbi or Hong Kong dollars. For non-resident enterprises, a 10% withholding tax applies; Southbound investors face a 20% rate. Foreign individual investors are currently exempt.

But the dividend news is only part of the picture. At the CV Show in Birmingham, BYD unveiled the Dolphin Cargo e-Van, its first light commercial vehicle for the European market. Based on the Dolphin platform, the van offers over 1,000 litres of cargo space and a WLTP-rated range of up to 265 miles. The timing is strategic: BYD registered 21,337 new vehicles in the UK during the first quarter of 2026, capturing roughly 3.98% market share. The Cargo van is designed to open up commercial buyers.

Meanwhile, back in China, the Beijing Auto Show opens tomorrow, and BYD is using the stage for one of the biggest product offensives in its history. The centrepiece is the Fangchengbao FORMULA, a sport coupe under the company’s premium sub-brand. That sub-brand has been a rare bright spot: it sold nearly 65,000 vehicles in the first quarter, a 236% jump year-on-year. Also debuting is the third-generation Atto 3, which now supports ultra-fast charging — from 10% to 70% in five minutes, and from 10% to 97% in around nine minutes. The Sealion 08, a large premium SUV, and the Yangwang U8L, a long-wheelbase PHEV with torque-vectoring for off-road use, round out the lineup. BYD also plans to have 20,000 fast-charging stations operational by year-end.

Yet the product blitz comes against a grim backdrop. BYD led the Chinese passenger car market with roughly 303,000 units sold in the latest period — but that figure collapsed by nearly 53% year-on-year. Rivals like Aito (up 86%) and Geely Galaxy (up 18%) are racing ahead. And the pressure is not just from other carmakers: CATL, BYD’s chief battery rival, is set to unveil a record package of new technologies at its own Tech Day.

The board meets in Shenzhen on April 28 to approve the unaudited first-quarter results for 2026. Analysts expect revenue of around RMB 134 billion, a decline of roughly 21% year-on-year, with earnings per share of RMB 0.55 — also below last year’s level. The full-year 2024 numbers were strong: revenue up 29%, net profit up 34%. But the tide turned in the fourth quarter of 2025, when net profit slumped 38% and vehicle revenue fell 17%, squeezed by falling prices and thinning margins.

On the trading floor today, BYD shares lost 3.48% to close at EUR 11.33, part of a broader sector sell-off that saw Toyota drop 2.12%, Tesla 2.02%, and Volkswagen 0.96%. Despite the day’s decline, the stock is still up roughly 5% year-to-date. Analysts maintain a “buy” rating with a price target of HKD 22.00. The company’s market capitalisation stands at around EUR 41.75 billion.

The Beijing show is BYD’s attempt to counter the domestic headwinds with sheer product firepower. Whether that will be enough will become clearer when the quarterly numbers land on April 28.