BYD's Two-Speed Race: Overseas Records and F1 Ambitions Collide with a Home Market Profit Tumble
24.05.2026 - 13:11:50 | boerse-global.de
The Chinese electric-vehicle heavyweight is living a tale of two markets. At home, the price war has shredded margins; abroad, demand is surging so fast that exports hit an all-time high in April. And now, BYD is eyeing perhaps the most audacious stage of all — Formula 1.
That dichotomy was laid bare in the first quarter of 2026, when net profit plunged 55 percent year-on-year. Revenue, at 150.2 billion renminbi, managed to beat analyst expectations, but earnings per share fell short of estimates. Despite the brutal discounting that has gripped China's EV sector, BYD still clung to a market share of nearly 20 percent in March.
The answer from Shenzhen lies beyond the country's borders. In April, exports of new-energy vehicles jumped 70 percent, with 135,000 units shipped — a single-month record. Over the first four months of the year, BYD sold close to half a million cars overseas. Management has set a target for international sales to account for more than a quarter of total deliveries in 2026, up from roughly 23 percent last year.
South Korea offers a glimpse of just how fast that overseas push is accelerating. Chinese EVs captured 33.9 percent of the Korean market in 2025, compared with just 1.1 percent in 2021. In the first four months of 2026, BYD alone sold nearly 6,000 vehicles there — a tenfold increase from the same period a year earlier.
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Institutional investors are taking notice. On May 23, a block of shares worth 8.55 million Hong Kong dollars changed hands in an off-exchange trade. BYD's H-shares currently trade at 91.60 Hong Kong dollars, having crept off their yearly low. The stock will go ex-dividend on June 11, with the next full earnings update scheduled for August 28.
Alongside the export surge, BYD is refreshing its product lineup. On Tuesday, May 26, the company launches the Sealion 06 DM-i in China. The plug-in hybrid packs a 38-kilowatt-hour battery, delivering an electric-only range of up to 310 kilometers and a combined range of 1,845 kilometers. Prices start at roughly 150,000 yuan, with an optional DiPilot 300 lidar system adding 12,000 yuan.
The luxury arm Denza also made headlines at the Cannes amfAR gala on May 23, where a special-edition Z9 GT created in partnership with Chopard fetched $811,000, with proceeds going to AIDS research. The standard Z9 GT produces nearly 1,000 horsepower from three electric motors.
But the boldest move may be in motorsport. BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu and vice-president Stella Li held multi-day talks in Cannes with former Red Bull chief Christian Horner and Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. The goal: entering the series as a 12th works team. From 2026, F1 regulations mandate powertrains that are 50 percent electric and run on fully sustainable fuels — a perfect showcase for BYD's hybrid and battery technology.
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Alternative options are also on the table, including a 24 percent stake in the Alpine F1 team. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has signaled openness to Chinese manufacturers. The hurdle is cost: an anti-dilution payment to existing teams could run to several billion dollars. For a company worth roughly $125 billion, the price tag is steep but not prohibitive.
The coming week will bring two catalysts: the Sealion 06 market debut and potentially more clarity on the F1 ambitions. If BYD can square the multibillion-dollar entry fee, it could permanently reshape its technological brand image — even as the home market's profit pain lingers.
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