Shenzhen: Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD's sales rose 17.8% year-on-year in August as record exports helped offset weaker demand in its home market, company figures showed Tuesday. The automaker sold 440,293 new-energy vehicles during the month, up from 373,626 in August 2025 and 419,211 in July, BYD said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
According to Anadolu Agency, exports surged 134.5% from a year earlier to a record 189,466 vehicles, accounting for about 43% of total deliveries. Estimated domestic sales, calculated by subtracting exports from the total, fell 14.3% year-on-year to around 250,827 vehicles as slowing consumer demand and intense competition continued to weigh on China's auto market.
Passenger new-energy vehicle sales rose 16.7% to 433,384 in August. Sales of fully electric passenger cars jumped 28.4% to 256,230, while plug-in hybrid sales increased 3% to 177,154. Commercial vehicle sales more than tripled to 6,909 during the month.
BYD produced 440,703 new-energy vehicles in August, bringing January-August production to nearly 2.68 million units, down 4.73% from the same period last year. Sales during the first eight months totaled about 2.67 million vehicles, down 6.84% year-on-year despite the strong August performance. Passenger vehicle sales fell 7.22% during the period, while commercial vehicle sales increased 21.3%.
The Shenzhen-based company has accelerated its expansion across Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America to reduce its reliance on China's increasingly competitive market. BYD's international operations generated more than half of the group's revenue in the first six months of 2026 for the first time, supported by rapidly growing vehicle exports.
The company, however, will need to further accelerate deliveries to reach its full-year sales target of between 5 million and 5.5 million vehicles. Reaching the lower end would require average monthly sales of about 583,000 vehicles during the final four months of the year. BYD also faces growing competition abroad from established automakers such as Toyota and Volkswagen, as well as potential new European Union trade measures targeting Chinese-made plug-in hybrid vehicles.