SHENZHEN: BYD Co says sales dropped 30% in January, underscoring the challenges facing the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s efforts to boost sales just as a winding back of subsidies hurts demand in China.
The Shenzhen-based manufacturer delivered 210,051 vehicles in the first month of 2026, compared with 300,538 in the same period last year.
A decline was expected after the late-year rush from buyers looking to lock-in purchases before a reduction in purchase subsidies for mass-market models from the end of December.
While the start of the year can see uneven sales volumes due to the Lunar New Year break, investors are closely watching BYD’s trajectory over 2026 as a slowdown in demand at home contrasts with growing demand overseas.
The carmaker has said it wants to increase deliveries to markets outside China by nearly 25% – an increasingly important pillar of its business that helped it overtake Tesla Inc to become the world’s No 1 EV maker.
Exports totalled 100,482 in January, BYD said.
Analysts expect BYD’s total sales to rebound to more than five million units this year from 4.6 million last year.
Still, competition remains fierce in its home market as the likes of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co gain ground.
Chinese officials are also continuing their efforts to stop the aggressive price cuts that have helped underpin EV demand in recent years.
That’s likely to push BYD to focus on its technological offerings, with analysts anticipating new product launches, as well as leaning on its premium sub-brands, Denza and Yangwang, to lift the average selling price of its fleet.
Shares of BYD sank to their lowest level in at least a year yesterday, leading a broader selloff in Chinese automaker stocks after they reported weaker sales in January as a revised subsidy scheme weighed on budget car brands. — Bloomberg
