BYD's Overseas Push Hits 1.34 Million Units as Pakistan Plant and French Site Enter the Frame
Published on 10/12/2026 at 22:30 | Editorial boerse-global.de
BYD is quietly rewriting the geography of its business. Fresh figures from the Chinese industry association CPCA show the automaker's sales map tilting decisively toward foreign markets, even as demand at home loses steam. The shift is no longer marginal: overseas deliveries accounted for roughly 43% of the company's total wholesale volume, a share that would have seemed implausible just a few years ago.
The numbers behind that rebalancing are striking. In September alone, BYD handed over 179,877 passenger cars and pickups to customers outside China — a jump of 153.9% from the same month a year earlier. That momentum carried the first nine months of the year to just under 1.34 million vehicles sold abroad, already eclipsing the company's entire overseas volume for 2025 with a full quarter still to play. At home, the picture is far less rosy: retail sales in China slid 28.9% in September to about 247,000 units.
Manufacturing Footprint Spreads From South Asia to Europe
Against that backdrop, BYD is racing to build production closer to its buyers. Vice President Liu Xueliang said today that Pakistan could evolve into a regional manufacturing and export hub for alternative-drive vehicles. Together with partner Mega Motor Company, the group plans a plant there slated to come online at the end of 2026, starting at 25,000 units a year before doubling to 50,000.
Europe is drawing attention too. Executive Vice President Stella Li told Reuters that France has made the shortlist as a possible location for a European factory, part of the company's ambition to add two more production sites on the continent. The stock barely registered the news, slipping 0.5% to EUR 8.61 in today's session.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying BYD?
Product rollouts are keeping pace with the factory plans. BYD launched its compact electric RACCO in Sri Lanka today alongside distribution partner John Keells CG Auto. Beyond private buyers, the company is increasingly supplying public fleets, having recently delivered police vehicles in Pakistan, Mexico and the Philippines. Its brand now reaches more than 120 countries and regions worldwide.
Tariffs and Tax Changes Reshape the Calculus
The global sprint comes with mounting regulatory friction. Since October 2024, BYD vehicles have faced a 17% additional duty in the European Union, layered on top of the standard 10% import rate. Pressure is building from Beijing as well: from April 1, 2027, the Chinese government will cut its value-added tax rebate on automobile exports from 13% to 9%. Analysts at Deutsche Bank estimate the reduction will shave roughly 5,000 yuan off the result for every exported vehicle starting in the second quarter of 2027.
That arithmetic explains why local plants have become central to the strategy. BYD's first European factory, in Szeged, is scheduled to begin series production in the fourth quarter of 2026, a move aimed at sidestepping tariffs and protecting profitability on overseas sales.
Geopolitics and a Firm US Pause
Strategic recalibration extends beyond trade policy. Li described geopolitics as the single biggest challenge to the company's expansion and confirmed that BYD will hold off on selling passenger cars in the United States for now. On the European regulatory front, uncertainty lingers — no concrete details have emerged on how a pending arrangement would be implemented in practice.
Even so, the sales engine keeps humming. BYD's worldwide deliveries reached 463,561 vehicles in September 2026, up 17.0% year on year. The company is also readying product premieres in its home market, with a China launch penciled in for the fourth quarter of 2026. New model generations and potential manufacturing sites outside Asia form the twin pillars of its effort to broaden its footing despite geopolitical headwinds.
Investors, for their part, took a cautious view today. The share price stood at EUR 8.45, down 2.4% on the session.
Ad
BYD Stock: New Analysis - 12 October
Fresh BYD information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
