In September, BYD Group sales decreased by 5.9% year-on-year to 393,060 vehicles. This decline was a continuation of the stagnation in July and August, when volumes hardly changed.
The main blow fell on the BYD brand itself: its sales decreased by 11.4% to 355,774 vehicles. The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) segment was particularly hard hit: 188,010 units were sold in September, which is 25.6% less than a year ago. The decline in this segment has been going on for six consecutive months. On average, BYD sales in China have fallen by about 20% over the past three months.
The company was supported by sub-brands. Fang Cheng Bao increased its volume by 345% (24,121 vehicles), Denza by 20.5% (12,407 vehicles), Yangwang by 145% (758 supercars). Sales of electric vehicles (BEV) increased by 24.3% and reached 205,050 units, and exports doubled to 71,256 vehicles (+115.8% compared to last year). In the third quarter, 232,806 vehicles were delivered to foreign markets (+146.4%).
In total, BYD Group sold 1.1 million vehicles in the third quarter, 2.1% less than a year earlier. This is the first drop in quarterly sales since 2020. At the same time, the volume of PHEV decreased by 23.7% (523,069 vehicles), and BEV increased by 31.4% (582,522 vehicles).
Against the background of BYD's problems, other Chinese manufacturers are recording records. Leapmotor exceeded 60,000 sales per month for the first time, doubling the result. Historical highs in September were also shown by Nio, Xiaomi and Xpeng.
BYD's main competitor, Geely, sold 442,672 electric vehicles (BEV and PHEV) in the third quarter, increasing volumes by 96.2% at once. The main driver of growth was the Galaxy brand.