BYD’s Overseas Revenue Surpasses Domestic Revenue for First Time in H1

According to BYD’s 2026 first-half financial report, the company generated revenue of RMB 344.815 billion ($51.2 billion) during the period, down 7.13% YoY, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 20.54% to RMB 12.325 billion ($1.83 billion).

In contrast to the pressure on revenue and profit, overseas revenue reached RMB 181.268 billion ($26.9 billion), up 33.92% YoY and accounting for 52.57% of total revenue.

Revenue from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan totaled RMB 163.547 billion ($24.3 billion), down 30.68% YoY, reducing its share to 47.43%.

This was the first time since BYD’s founding that overseas revenue exceeded domestic revenue on a first-half financial reporting basis.

In the same period last year, overseas revenue accounted for just 36.46% of the total, meaning its share increased by more than 16 percentage points in one year.

Overseas markets also became more important from a profitability perspective.

Gross margin for overseas operations reached 21.71% in the first half, up 1.9 percentage points YoY, while the gross margin of domestic operations fell 1.3 percentage points to 15.67%.

The increase in overseas revenue not only offset part of the decline in domestic revenue but also improved the company’s overall business mix to some extent.

Sales volumes reflected the same shift. BYD sold about 790,000 vehicles overseas in the first half, up 68% YoY, with its business now spanning more than 120 countries and regions worldwide.

In markets including the UK, Brazil and Thailand, BYD has ranked among the leading new energy vehicle brands by sales.

BYD’s premium brands also gained scale. Fangchengbao, Denza and Yangwang together sold 228,000 vehicles, up 61% YoY, lifting their combined share of total sales to 12.6%.

The shift toward higher-end models directly supported gross margins.

BYD’s overall gross margin reached 18.85% in the first half, up 0.84 percentage points YoY and the highest level in nearly a year. Second-quarter gross margin rose further to 18.9%.

Revenue from automobiles and related businesses fell 8.98% YoY to RMB 275.341 billion ($40.9 billion), accounting for nearly 80% of total company revenue.

BYD sold 1.8085 million new energy vehicles in the first half, down 15.72% YoY.

BYD Executive Director Wang Chuanfu previously attributed the sales decline to capacity ramp-up constraints for the second-generation Blade Battery and said that this year’s sales would depend on battery production capacity.

As production of the second-generation Blade Battery ramps up and capacity at overseas plants in Thailand, Brazil and Uzbekistan comes online, BYD still has room to further expand its overseas delivery capacity.

In terms of investment, BYD continues to focus on batteries, charging infrastructure and intelligent driving.

The company spent RMB 28.9 billion ($4.29 billion) on R&D in the first half, bringing cumulative R&D investment to more than RMB 270 billion ($40.1 billion).

Under its “Flash Charging China” strategy, BYD’s domestic flash-charging network has reached 10,000 stations, while the company plans to build another 6,000 flash-charging stations overseas within a year.

In intelligent driving, BYD unveiled its in-house 4-nanometer “Xuanji A3” intelligent-driving chip at the end of May.

More than 3.52 million vehicles equipped with related driver-assistance systems are currently on the road.

Meanwhile, cash flow from operating activities reached RMB 37.335 billion ($5.55 billion), up 17.28% from RMB 31.833 billion ($4.73 billion) a year earlier.