BYD under pressure as sales fall for eighth straight month in April despite record overseas deliveries
BYD sold 314,100 passenger vehicles in April, down 15.7% from a year earlier, marking the company’s eighth consecutive month of year-on-year decline. The figure was up 6.2% from March, when the Shenzhen-based automaker sold 295,639 passenger vehicles.
The April result shows a sequential recovery after the Chinese New Year slowdown, but BYD’s year-on-year performance remains under pressure. The company’s sales have now declined every month since September 2025, after posting slight growth in July and August last year.
This is despite BYD’s sales outside China reaching a record 134,542 passenger cars and pickups in April, up 70.9% year-on-year. Overseas sales accounted for 42.8% of BYD’s total April volume, showing how important exports have become as domestic demand weakens.
From January to April, BYD sold 1,003,039 passenger vehicles, down 26.4% year-on-year. In the same period, the overseas sales hit 455,707 units, up 59.8% year over year. BYD has a 2026 target to sell 1.5 million vehicles overseas.
In total, BYD sold 321,123 vehicles in April, which includes commercial vehicles and buses.
BYD’s main brand, which includes the Dynasty and Ocean series, sold 273,448 cars, down 21.2% from last year. Fang Cheng Bao, an off-road brand that launched a sleek sedan lineup, grew 190.2% to 29,138 units sold in April. Premium brand Denza fell 26.9% to 11,250 units, while the Yangwang high-end brand grew 95.6% to 264 units.
The April sales data also comes after BYD reported weaker profitability in the first quarter. The company’s net profit fell 55.4% year-on-year to 4.09 billion yuan, or 599.0 million USD, as China’s price war and higher hardware costs weighed on margins.
Editor’s comment
BYD has been under heavy pressure at home over the past month and is trying to defend its position with new models, ultra-fast charging technology, and a faster overseas rollout. But April’s figures show that while exports are growing quickly, they have not yet fully offset the slowdown. Folks in Shenzhen are likely hoping its Flash chargers will arrive to the rescue like a cavalry charge, giving BYD a clear differentiator in China’s brutally competitive EV market. We will keep an eye on it.
