Tang EV Pre-Orders Top 100,000 But BYD Shares Remain Stuck Near the Floor Amid Pentagon Worries

BYD stock nears 52-week low with ex-dividend, but Tang EV's 100k pre-orders and Blade Battery 2.0 boost Toyota ambitions; Pentagon listing adds risk.

BYD’s stock is trading a whisker above its 52-week low, and tomorrow, June 11, the shares go ex-dividend at 0.41141 Hong Kong dollars apiece. Yet even a modest payout — due in late July — is unlikely to jolt a stock that has shed nearly 38% over the past twelve months and now sits about 11% below its 200-day moving average of 11.02 euros. With the relative strength index at 36.4, the equity is edging toward oversold territory but has so far failed to find a floor.

The gloom on the trading screen stands in stark contrast to the buzz around BYD’s latest product launch. The new Tang EV, set to reach customers on June 17, has already racked up more than 100,000 pre-orders. The all-wheel-drive variant packs 585 kilowatts and dashes from zero to 100 kph in 3.9 seconds, while the rear-wheel-drive version claims a range of 950 kilometres under the Chinese CLTC cycle. BYD says the Tang EV’s “flash-charging” system, with a 10C charge rate, can replenish the battery from 10% to 97% in roughly nine minutes. The vehicle also debuts the company’s latest driver-assistance suite, God’s Eye 5.0, which incorporates lidar.

Central to the Tang EV — and to BYD’s broader ambitions — is the second generation of the Blade Battery, a lithium-iron-phosphate cell introduced in 2020. Chairman Wang Chuanfu, speaking at the annual general meeting in Shenzhen, called the Blade Battery the key to unlocking production bottlenecks in the current year. He reiterated a goal he has laid out before: BYD wants to overtake Toyota as the world’s largest automaker within five years. That would require at least doubling last year’s output of 4.6 million vehicles, while Toyota sold 11.32 million units in the same period. Wang is betting heavily on the Blade Battery’s elongated cell format to improve packing density and thermal management, and he insists solid-state batteries remain unready for the mass market.

Yet the path to the top spot is strewn with obstacles beyond the factory floor. The Pentagon has placed BYD on its Section 1260H list, which identifies Chinese companies allegedly linked to the military. BYD denies the classification and is exploring legal action, pointing to Xiaomi’s successful challenge to a similar listing in 2021. No immediate trade sanctions follow from the designation, but BYD is barred from direct US defence contracts after June 2026 — a symbolic blow that adds to investor unease.

Meanwhile, BYD is working to burnish its global image through motorsport. Vice-president Stella Li met with Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem at the Monaco Grand Prix. Reports suggest BYD is weighing an entry into the sport, possibly via a partnership or a minority stake in a team such as Alpine. The move would align with the company’s efforts to build a premium halo around its brand.

Export momentum provides a counterweight to domestic headwinds. Overseas shipments rose 65% in the first five months of the year, with Brazil, Britain and Australia among the top destinations — markets with relatively low trade barriers. BYD has set a target of 1.6 million export units for the full year 2026. Yet intense competition in China has weighed on domestic sales, and the export ramp, while impressive, has not been enough to shift the narrative for investors who see a yawning gap between Wang Chuanfu’s five-year ambition and the stock’s near-record low. The next quarterly results will test whether the supply chain can keep pace with a CEO’s timeline — and whether Wall Street is ready to believe.