BYD's Global Push Gathers Pace — From Cairo to Christchurch to Canada

BYD's overseas sales jump 67.8% in H1, offsetting a 39.6% domestic decline, as it eyes Canada and expands in Egypt and New Zealand.

The numbers arriving from opposite corners of the globe tell a remarkably consistent story about China's largest electric-vehicle maker. In Egypt, BYD has seized more than a fifth of the plug-in market within 200 days of launch. In New Zealand, its registrations jumped 143 percent in July alone. And in Canada, job listings and a "Coming Soon" notice on the company's website hint at a North American entry that could add another chapter to an export offensive already running at nearly 68 percent annual growth.

The question for investors is no longer whether BYD can win abroad — it plainly can — but whether the overseas surge can outrun the damage being done at home.

A Two-Continent Snapshot of Momentum

Vice-president Stella Li spent Friday touring the company's technology and service centres in Egypt, where the local distributor ManDream has just been named best EV sales operation for the 2025/2026 period. The accolade rests on tangible traction: more than 2,000 vehicles sold, over 2,500 test drives completed, and eight models now on offer. BYD says it plans to deepen its regional footprint in 2027.

The New Zealand picture is equally telling. A Trade Me survey found 33 percent of new-car buyers in the country now consider Chinese brands — ahead of European marques at 29 percent, though still trailing Japanese manufacturers, which lead with 75 percent. Chinese automakers collectively accounted for 2,286 new passenger-vehicle registrations in July, a 26.2 percent market share and a 102 percent jump year on year. BYD alone delivered 622 registrations, up 143 percent. Fully 73 percent of all battery-electric vehicles sold in New Zealand last month came from China, while the share of electric and plug-in models among total registrations climbed from 11.8 percent to 29.8 percent in a single year.

Canada: The Next Frontier

Media reports suggest BYD is preparing to enter Canada, with the company advertising eleven management positions in Toronto and Vancouver and its website now displaying a "Coming Soon" notice for the market. A quota of 49,000 vehicles per year is said to govern the entry — though the company has yet to officially confirm the plans, and no firm launch date has been set.

The Canadian move would slot into a diversification wave that already includes Bangladesh, Jamaica and Mongolia. In recent days alone, BYD has announced a technical licensing agreement with Runner Automobiles in Bangladesh, launched the ATTO 8 in Jamaica, and signed a letter of intent with Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar covering electromobility and fast-charging infrastructure.

Each new market carries its own risks — tariffs, logistics costs, regulatory uncertainty — but the pattern is unmistakable: BYD is building a genuinely global sales base.

The Home-Market Drag

The urgency behind this push is easy to grasp. China's domestic EV market shrank by roughly a fifth after government purchase incentives expired, and all seven major Chinese automakers reported profit declines or losses in the first half. BYD's own domestic sales fell 39.6 percent in the period, according to the country's automaker association.

The interim results, released Thursday, laid the strain bare: revenue slipped 7.13 percent to 344.82 billion yuan, while profit dropped 20.54 percent. The export engine — 792,000 vehicles shipped in the first half, up 67.8 percent — is compensating for the home-market weakness, but only partially.

There is also a reputational cloud. The Chinese regulator MIIT, in a 2025 supervisory review, counted BYD among manufacturers found to have documentation discrepancies in production consistency for new-energy vehicles. The consequences remain unclear.

What the Chart Says

The stock market has taken a measured view of all this. BYD shares closed Friday at €9.92, down 0.4 percent on the day and 2.2 percent on the week. Over twelve months the stock has lost 21 percent, leaving it roughly 24 percent below its 52-week high of €12.99 reached on 29 August 2025.

The technical picture suggests stabilisation rather than recovery: the shares are hovering near the 50-day moving average of €9.65 but remain well below the 200-day average of €10.44. The relative strength index at 49.3 signals neither overbought nor oversold conditions — a market weighing operational progress abroad against margin pressure at home.

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its "Overweight" rating on 25 August, counting BYD among its three preferred Chinese auto stocks despite the domestic headwinds. The international business, after all, delivered a 22 percent gross margin in the first half and now accounts for 53 percent of group revenue — evidence that overseas growth brings profitability, not just volume.

The Road Ahead

The bull case rests on the durability of that formula: export growth of roughly 68 percent, international margins above domestic ones, and a steady stream of new markets coming online. The bear case points to the still-unconfirmed Canada timeline, the MIIT findings, and the lingering psychological weight of Berkshire Hathaway's completed exit from its former stake — an old story, but one that new investors still remember.

The Dolphin model, which has now surpassed one million sales since launch, illustrates the trajectory. Thailand's best-selling EV in 2024, the compact car is slated for more than 100,000 exports in 2026. BYD also aims to have 20,000 fast-charging stations across China by the end of next year.

For now, the shares sit between their key moving averages, waiting for evidence that the export wave can fully offset the domestic trough. Canada's actual market launch — whenever it comes — will be the next concrete test.