BYD sells 4.6 million vehicles in 2025, meets revised sales goal

BYD met its full-year sales target and likely surpassed Tesla to become the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker in 2025 – a milestone that is overshadowed by a challenging outlook for the Chinese auto market in the year ahead. 

The Chinese EV maker delivered 4.6 million units last year, up 7.7 per cent from 2024, a statement indicated, meeting its full-year goal – though that achievement lost some of its shine as it was a downgraded target.

Despite the positive end to 2025, BYD and its rivals face growing pressure in the coming year as China scales back some incentives that had underpinned EV purchases.

An influx of new models is also making domestic competition even fiercer, while trade barriers pose challenges for BYD’s ambitions to expand overseas. 

China’s best-selling carmaker has faced stiffer competition in the past year from Geely Automobile and Xiaomi, whose new models and rapid innovations in technology are winning over consumers. 

BYD’s chief executive officer Wang Chuanfu said at an investor meeting in early December that the technological head start the company had in the past few years has diminished, affecting its domestic sales.

He hinted at new technology breakthroughs to come, with the company’s 120,000-strong engineering team giving him confidence about its ability to regain its advantage, he was quoted as saying by Chinese media. 

A bright spot for BYD has been surging overseas sales. Deliveries outside of China hit 1.05 million in 2025.

The company has set a goal to expand overseas sales to between 1.5 million and 1.6 million units in 2026, based on a Citigroup report in November that cited a meeting with BYD management.

Still, pressure is mounting on the carmaker after it posted back-to-back plunges in quarterly profit as it found itself at the centre of China’s efforts to rein in the sprawling EV industry – including a crackdown on the aggressive discounting that has underpinned sales.

The growing scrutiny is likely to accelerate consolidation and shake up the hierarchy of the sector.

So far, market watchers believe that BYD can weather the challenges better than others. The company’s total sales could grow to 5.3 million units next year, analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg showed. Deutsche Bank has pointed to new product launches and the unveiling of a technology platform as boosting the company’s competitiveness. 

That may lead to BYD stretching its lead over Tesla, which is struggling with challenges of its own in 2026. 

The American carmaker’s sales plunged in the early part of 2025 as it retooled production lines at each of its assembly plants for the redesigned Model Y, while CEO Elon Musk’s polarising role in the Trump administration put off some consumers.

Meanwhile, the end of a US purchase subsidy is testing the strength of demand going forward. BLOOMBERG