BYD's Two-Speed Reality: Record Pre-Orders and Export Surge Can't Mask Home Market Pain

BYD faces a domestic sales slump, battery shortage delaying its Great Tang SUV, and a 55% profit drop, while overseas exports surge over 70% in April.

China's dominant electric-vehicle maker is living a tale of two markets. At home, BYD is battling a softening domestic EV landscape, a brutal price war, and a battery-supply bottleneck that is delaying the launch of its flagship SUV. Overseas, the company is riding a blistering export boom that has seen foreign sales jump more than 70% in a single month.

The contrasting dynamics were laid bare this week as BYD confirmed the Great Tang SUV would hit Chinese showrooms on June 8 — a delay from the originally planned May rollout. The holdup is not due to weak demand but the opposite: pre-orders have overwhelmed production capacity. The company has received more than 100,000 reservations for the new model in less than two weeks since the Beijing Auto Show, with over 30,000 bookings coming within the first 24 hours and dealer data later showing more than 60,000.

Premium SUV Hamstrung by Battery Shortage

At the heart of the bottleneck is the second-generation Blade battery, which powers the Great Tang's ultra-fast charging capability. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu has acknowledged that demand for models equipped with the rapid-charging platform now exceeds the company's current battery output. The Great Tang, a large SUV that will retail from 250,000 yuan, can charge from 10% to 70% in just five minutes and offers a range of up to 950 kilometers on the CLTC cycle.

The production pressure comes as BYD's older Tang L model is clearly in a transition phase. In April, the current-generation Tang posted only 791 sales in China, a steep year-on-year decline. Many buyers appear to be holding out for the newer Great Tang, a typical industry pattern but one that leaves BYD exposed during a period of intense domestic competition.

Seagull Keeps the Price War Going

While the Great Tang targets the premium segment, BYD is simultaneously turning up the heat at the entry level. The company has launched an updated version of its electric minicar, the Seagull, which starts at just under 70,000 renminbi and tops out at around 86,000 renminbi. The four-variant model, part of BYD's Ocean series, is aimed squarely at commuters and is designed to defend the automaker's 30% domestic market share — the equivalent of roughly 4.6 million electric and hybrid vehicles sold in 2025.

Yet the Chinese EV market is showing clear signs of strain. Overall new-energy vehicle sales in April fell 6% year on year, even as pure electric cars still accounted for 53% of all passenger-car registrations. That softness at home is squeezing margins across the industry, and BYD is no exception.

Profit Plunge as Costs Bite

The financial impact is unmistakable. In the first quarter, BYD's net profit tumbled 55.4% to 4.09 billion yuan, while revenue also declined. The battery constraint adds to the margin pressure, preventing the company from converting red-hot pre-orders into delivered revenue.

But the picture brightens dramatically when the lens shifts away from China. In April alone, BYD shipped 134,542 passenger cars and pickups overseas, a 70.9% jump compared with the same month last year. The European market is a particular bright spot: new registrations of BYD EVs in the EU, EFTA, and the UK surged more than 155% in the first quarter. The company has raised its export target for 2026 to 1.5 million vehicles.

A Diversified Foundation

BYD's resilience is partly owed to its sprawling business model. Beyond vehicle manufacturing, the group's own battery division and smartphone-component production provide a broad revenue base that can cushion the volatility of the auto cycle. The stock market appears to have taken some comfort: shares in Hong Kong closed at HK$110.30, gaining 4.95% on the day.

Still, the near-term challenge remains clear. Between June 8 and the eventual ramp-up of Great Tang deliveries, the battery supply chain will determine whether the company can turn a 100,000-unit order book into actual handovers — and whether that export momentum can offset the pain at home.