BYD sales slump in China as rivals capitalise

BYD sales have slowed in the Chinese auto giant’s domestic market for the first time since 2020, with a 5.9 per cent decline across its portfolio of automotive brands in September.

BYD-badged models posted an even bigger year-on-year sales slide than the overall group, with an 11.4 per cent decline in demand last month in China. 

According to CarNewsChina, BYD-branded vehicle sales in China have declined by an average of 20 per cent over the last three months, driven by a hyper-competitive price war among hundreds of car brands in the world’s largest auto market.  However, BYD sales outside of China (the latest Australian figures are due tomorrow) are up 115.8 per cent year-on-year, with BYD forecasting as much as 20 per cent of its total 2025 sales (up to one million vehicles) will be exports, according to Reuters.

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The Chinese government said in July 2025 it would look to address the domestic price war, admitting that an oversupply of new vehicles had led to “irrational competition” and an imbalance between supply and demand.

BYD’s slower September sales in China are in contrast with the doubling of Leapmotor sales year-on-year sales, while Xpeng, Xiaomi and Nio also posted record results last month. 

BYD was the only one of the big four Chinese automakers to post a sales decline in September, bringing the group’s annual result into negative territory.

Sales for BYD’s Fangchengbao off-road vehicle brand – which will supply the B5 and B8 off-road SUVs for Australia under the company’s Denza luxury marque from later this year – increased by 345 per cent in September.

Denza, which will launch in Australia next month, enjoyed a 20.5 per cent increase, while BYD’s high-end Yangwang brand – which is responsible for the wild U9 electric supercar – recorded a 345 per cent gain.

For the previous quarter (June-August), BYD’s global sales were down 2.1 per cent while rival Geely – stakeholder in brands including Zeekr, Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, and Smart – posted a 96.2 per cent increase. 

In Australia, the latest sales results – to August 31, 2025 – show local BYD sales are up 145.9 per cent so far this year, led by the BYD Shark 6 dual-cab plug-in hybrid ute, after BYD became the most popular of the four Chinese brands in the Australian top 10 in August.

BYD’s 4877 sales in August were enough to place it sixth overall for the month – behind Toyota, Ford, Kia, Mazda and Hyundai, but ahead of Mitsubishi, GWM, MG and Chery in the top 10 – after breaking into the top five for the first time in June. 

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