BYD Board Reappoints Wang Chuan-fu as Exports Offset Sluggish Domestic Demand

BYD shareholders re-elected Wang Chuan-fu as chairman and president on 29 September, as JPMorgan downgraded the stock and September BEV deliveries rose 6.6%.

BYD's shareholders handed the company's leadership a fresh mandate at a general meeting on 29 September, re-electing Wang Chuan-fu as an executive member of the supervisory board before that body returned him to the chairman's seat and named him president. Zhou Yalin was appointed vice president and chief financial officer in the same round of votes. Alongside the personnel decisions, investors approved several amendments to the company's articles of association as well as resolutions covering its asset-pooling business and external guarantees — a package that keeps the management team intact as it navigates a demanding stretch for the industry.

The meeting, described in some accounts as an extraordinary general assembly, also saw the appointment of three new directors.

September Deliveries: BEVs at a High, Hybrids in Retreat

On the operational front, the product mix is shifting. An industry report published Friday put BYD's September deliveries of purely battery-electric vehicles at 273,143 units, a 6.6 percent increase over August and the strongest month so far this year for that drivetrain. Plug-in hybrid volumes, by contrast, declined.

The company had already flagged a 17 percent year-on-year rise in total September sales to 463,561 vehicles. Overseas business did much of the heavy lifting: exports of passenger cars and pickups jumped 153.9 percent compared with the same month a year earlier. That gap between booming foreign sales and cautious Chinese consumers captures the sector's current bind — international markets are opening extra channels, but the home market remains decisive for hitting volume targets.

For the first nine months of 2026, cumulative sales reached 3,131,576 vehicles, a slight decline of 3.9 percent from the prior-year period.

JPMorgan Steps Back as Headwinds Mount

Market watchers have turned more guarded. JPMorgan downgraded the stock from "Overweight" to "Neutral" on 29 September and trimmed its price target to 88 Hong Kong dollars from 124. The brokerage pointed to persistent weakness in the auto sector and structural challenges stretching through 2027, citing soft domestic demand, rising procurement costs, political uncertainty and tariff and non-tariff barriers facing Chinese manufacturers abroad.

Nomura analysts added to the downbeat mood, flagging domestic demand that fell short of expectations and disappointing order intake. According to Dow Jones, muted customer demand during China's traditional peak season weighed on sentiment across the entire sector and dragged Hong Kong listings lower.

Luxury Push Continues

Even as analysts cool on the stock, BYD is pressing ahead with its international build-out. The company announced an event to introduce its Yangwang luxury marque to overseas markets.

The shares gave up 2.4 percent on Friday to close at 8.39 euros, with the broader Chinese EV market's softness setting the tone. In today's session the stock is trading 1.1 percent higher at 8.49 euros, though it remains down 21 percent since the start of the year — a measure of how much caution still surrounds the name.