BYD Overseas Revenue Surpasses Domestic for First Time, Accounting for 53% in H1 2026

BYD achieved overseas revenue exceeding its domestic revenue for the first time in the first half of 2026. According to its interim financial report released on August 28, its overseas revenue reached RMB 18.13 billion (approx. USD 2.7 billion), up 34% year-on-year, representing 53% of the group's total revenue; meanwhile, revenue from mainland China declined 31% year-on-year.

Data shows that globally, BYD delivered 2.622 million vehicles in the first eight months of 2026, of which 1.162 million were exported — an increase of 70.6% year-on-year. In August alone, its overseas deliveries hit 190,000 units, surging 134% year-on-year. This growth spans BYD's full brand portfolio, including DENZA, FANG CHENG BAO, and Yang Wang.

Concurrently, BYD's registered sales in the Chinese market faced significant pressure: 795,000 new vehicles were registered domestically in H1 2026, down 45.9% year-on-year. Industry monitor China EV DataTracker attributes this primarily to the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) segment — from January to August 2026, BYD's PHEV sales totaled 1.265 million units, down 11.2% year-on-year, continuing a negative trend already evident in 2025 (PHEV sales fell 7.9% YoY in 2025).

However, positive signals emerged in the second half: from July to August 2026, BYD's global deliveries reached 844,000 units, up 18.5% year-on-year, with battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales rising sharply by 29.6% YoY, while PHEV sales edged up just 6%. This indicates an accelerating shift toward BEVs in its product mix.

Notably, BYD's overall gross margin rose: at 18.85% in H1 2026, it improved by 0.84 percentage points year-on-year. The company explicitly attributed this improvement to "growth in overseas automotive operations," where gross margin reached 22%, up 1.9 percentage points YoY. Group-wide total revenue stood at RMB 34.48 billion, down 7.1% YoY; net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 1.23 billion, down 20.5% YoY.

At the industry level, China's passenger vehicle market remains under pressure — according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), retail sales in China dropped 21.1% YoY in July 2026, marking the tenth consecutive month of decline; meanwhile, China's passenger vehicle exports rose 88.2% YoY over the same period. Against this backdrop, BYD is accelerating its global production footprint, building localized manufacturing bases in Brazil, Hungary, and Turkey — with Brazil now its largest overseas market.