Things are not going well for BYD at home. While overseas sales — including strong numbers in markets like Malaysia — are growing fast, the world’s largest battery electric vehicle maker is clearly struggling at home, where domestic performance has been falling for months.
Company data showed BYD’s domestic sales fell again in April, stretching its run of year-on-year declines in China to eight straight months.
The slump reflected fierce price competition in the world’s biggest EV market, where buyer demand has slipped amid economic uncertainty and an ever-growing field of rivals, including Geely, Leapmotor, and Xiaomi.
Overseas, the picture looks very different.
April export volumes hit a fresh record of 134,542 passenger vehicles, up 70.9% year-on-year, and international sales have now become central to BYD’s overall numbers.
But the gains abroad have not stopped the rot at the bottom line — Q1 2026 net profit crashed 55.4% to 4.09 billion yuan, and revenue fell 11.8%, its third straight quarter of decline.
Southeast Asia has become a key arena for Chinese EV brands, with Malaysia among the markets where they have quickly built a presence through cheaper pricing and a wider range of models.
Analysts said BYD’s international push is helping to steady its total sales momentum, but warn that its heavy reliance on China for production scale means the domestic weakness is not a sideshow — it is the main event.
The company still moves the bulk of its vehicles at home, where margins are being crushed by price wars and fierce competition from both traditional car makers and newer EV players.
Despite the pain, BYD’s global stature is beyond dispute.
It is the world’s largest battery electric vehicle maker by volume, having sold 2.26 million BEVs in 2025 against Tesla’s 1.64 million.
The split story — a domestic market in decline, overseas sales at record levels — points to a company relying more on exports to Europe and Southeast Asia to keep growing while it fights to stabilise its home base.
