Humanoid Robots and a League of Legends Tie-Up: BYD’s Twin New Bets Even as a 78% Stock Rout Deepens

Chinese auto giant BYD enters humanoid robots and League of Legends sponsorship, unveils Sinopec energy alliance, and reports May sales growth despite 78% stock plunge.

BYD is reaching into two entirely new arenas this week. On Thursday the Chinese auto giant confirmed plans to enter the humanoid-robot business, and the following day it signed on as the first carmaker to sponsor the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) in China. The twin announcements underscore a push to broaden the group’s revenue streams beyond electric vehicles, yet the market response has been anything but enthusiastic.

The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares slipped 1.67% to EUR 9.90 on Friday, bringing the year-to-date collapse to 78.5%. That puts the stock barely 4% above its 52-week trough of EUR 9.51, with an RSI of 38.8 signalling fading momentum. Both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages — which stand more than 10% above the current price — remain distant targets.

A dividend event is adding to the near-term noise. BYD plans a final distribution of 0.358 renminbi per share, with the ex-date set for June 11 and payment due July 31. Shareholders must still approve the payout at the annual general meeting in Shenzhen on June 9. For non-resident institutional holders, a 10% withholding tax applies, although foreign retail investors remain exempt.

On the energy front, BYD finalised a strategic alliance with Sinopec to build an integrated smart-energy ecosystem. Dubbed the “Flash-Charging-China” strategy, the partnership aims to link charging infrastructure, after-sales services and solar-storage solutions. The deal comes as BYD seeks to massively expand its ultrafast charging network in both domestic and international markets.

The operational core is showing some green shoots. BYD sold 383,453 new energy vehicles in May, a 0.3% year-on-year gain that, combined with a 19.4% month-on-month jump, suggests the eight-month stretch of declining annual comparisons has ended. The export engine is roaring: 160,644 units left China last month, up 80% from a year earlier and representing over 40% of total monthly volume. Full-year overseas sales for 2025 already reached around 1 million vehicles.

Contrast that with the domestic market, which contracted 24% — the 13th consecutive monthly decline. Beijing’s push to curb aggressive price cuts has done little to revive demand, and advanced driver-assistance systems have yet to become a selling point in lower price segments. As a result, net profit fell 19% last year to the equivalent of 32.6 billion renminbi.

Expansion efforts continue to multiply. BYD’s own car carrier, the BYD Zhengzhou, completed its maiden voyage to Australia, landing 4,809 vehicles in Melbourne. In the UK, the Dolphin Cargo — a compact electric van derived from the Dolphin hatchback — was unveiled with a city-cycle range of up to 347 miles. Hungary’s Szeged plant started trial production in January, with series output expected by the second quarter. In South Korea, BYD is targeting more than 10,000 annual vehicle sales and recorded 1,032 registrations in May, a drop from the prior month but part of a longer buildup.

BYD vice-president Li Ke framed the robot entry as a natural extension of the group’s artificial-intelligence work for autonomous driving, citing advantages in manufacturing, software and hardware. The LPL sponsorship, meanwhile, focuses on the BYD Ocean brand for new energy vehicles and aims to reach younger demographics in markets where the dealer network is still developing.

For all the fresh initiatives, the equity remains deeply depressed. The robotik and esports bets, along with the Sinopec tie-up, sketch out a bolder strategic horizon — but the market is still waiting for convincing operating results to turn the narrative around.