BYD maintains its target of selling more than 1.5 million vehicles in 2026 in international markets

During a recent conference with analysts following the release of its fourth-quarter 2025 results, BYD expressed a high level of confidence that it will sell 1.5 million vehicles outside China in 2026. This is a new and ambitious target from the Chinese manufacturer, representing a 15 percent increase over the previously announced goal, which had set total sales for 2026 at around 1.3 million vehicles.

The announcement comes at a difficult moment for BYD, since during that same results conference it revealed a 38 percent drop in its fourth-quarter net profit, a figure higher than expected, and closed the year with a 19 percent decline in annual earnings, the first such drop in four years. This situation reflects growing competition in its domestic market, a cooling domestic demand and an aggressive price war in China. In fact, although it has largely gone unnoticed, the truth is that in the first two months of 2026, Geely has overtaken BYD in global sales.

Despite this major challenge for the Chinese manufacturer, exports have become the company’s main hope. In 2025, its international sales more than doubled, reaching nearly 1.1 million vehicles, which accounted for 22.7 percent of its total business. In the first two months of 2026, sales outside China already made up around 50 percent of the total.

Not so fast

Expanding abroad will not, however, be cheap or simple. BYD must overcome obstacles such as requirements applicable to dealerships, local regulations, tariffs, logistical complexities, as well as the need to win consumer trust in each new market. To support this growth, the company plans to open factories in Hungary and Turkey, and is actively evaluating a third additional plant. Furthermore, the Chinese manufacturer has left the door open to the possibility of directly acquiring a traditional manufacturer to accelerate its global expansion.

On the other hand, and even though BYD is not yet present in the United States, the Chinese company is already exerting considerable pressure on the world’s major manufacturers. Its success in Europe, Latin America and other regions shows that the balance of power in the automotive industry is shifting from the West toward the East. The uncomfortable reality for traditional brands is that trade barriers, such as those imposed in the United States, have their limits. As has been demonstrated, BYD does not need to triumph in every market to threaten the profits of Western manufacturers.