BYD's October Exports Double as Nine-Month Profit Slips and EU Lawmakers Raise Alarm

BYD closed Friday's session at €8.54, up 1.7%, after a week in which the Chinese automaker delivered a mixed earnings picture, a doubling of overseas shipments and fresh political headwinds from Brussels.

Quarterly surge, annual decline

The Shenzhen-based group reported on 29 October that net profit attributable to shareholders for the third quarter of 2026 climbed 28.08% year on year to RMB 10 billion — a figure that nonetheless fell short of analyst forecasts, according to media reports. Revenue for the same three-month window advanced 13.59% to RMB 221.5 billion, meaning both the top and bottom lines grew sequentially against the prior-year quarter.

The longer view tells a different story. Across the first nine months of 2026, BYD booked a net profit of RMB 22.3 billion, down 4.24% from a year earlier. Revenue for the period came in at RMB 566.3 billion, a marginal 0.01% improvement on the previous year's level.

Overseas shipments outpace the domestic book

October delivery figures, already released by the company and calculated by Reuters from its disclosures, showed roughly 490,000 new-energy vehicles sold — an 11% increase on the same month last year. Battery-electric passenger cars accounted for about 306,000 of that total.

Exports were the standout: some 170,000 vehicles shipped abroad, a jump of 102.8% year on year and a far faster rate of growth than the overall sales book. Yet the cumulative picture remains negative. From January through October, BYD moved approximately 3.6 million vehicles, 2.16% below the prior-year level — evidence that October's momentum has not yet offset earlier softness.

Seal 07 second generation lands in China

On the product front, the automaker launched the second-generation Seal 07 in its home market on 29 October, offering both a battery-electric version and a plug-in hybrid. List prices range from RMB 139,900 to RMB 172,900.

Fourteen MEPs press Brussels for a safety review

Away from the showroom, BYD faces a political challenge in Europe. According to Reuters, 14 members of the European Parliament have asked the European Commission to assess whether the company's vehicles pose a security risk. The lawmakers also urged Brussels to consider possible restrictions, including exclusion from public procurement procedures.

BYD pushed back, stating that vehicle and cloud data cannot be accessed remotely from China.