BYD's first-quarter earnings released Tuesday showed a 55% drop in net income to 4.08 billion yuan ($597 million) for the January-through-March period. Over the same stretch, total sales came in at 150.2 billion yuan, down 12% compared with the prior year.

Pressure from competitors such as Xiaomi and Geely has compelled BYD to repeatedly cut prices, driving a run of four consecutive quarters in which profit has fallen, according to Bloomberg. According to Bloomberg, the price cuts reached a two-year peak in March, wearing down the per-vehicle margin BYD is able to capture.

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BYD sold 700,463 total units in the first quarter, according to The Wall Street Journal, with overseas shipments continuing to outpace domestic deliveries. International shipments climbed by more than half compared with the same period last year, with exports making up roughly 45% of total first-quarter deliveries, according to Bloomberg — a pace consistent with the company's goal of moving 1.5 million vehicles in foreign markets by year-end.

Domestic conditions have proved more difficult. At home, a sluggish appetite for EVs driven by cautious consumers and fierce rivalry among automakers has weighed on sales, while the spike in global energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict has made electric vehicles a more attractive proposition for buyers overseas, according to The Wall Street Journal.

BYD's Hong Kong-listed shares closed Tuesday at HK$103.70, a decline of 2.2%.

These first-quarter results follow a wider slowdown in BYD’s production and salesover the past year. In July 2025, the company saw its first year-over-year production drop in 16 months, cut shifts at some factories, and delayed expansion as the domestic price war grew more intense. Although BYD is still the world’s largest EV seller, it is finding it harder to keep growing in China’s crowded market.

The new Great Tang, a flagship seven-seat SUV priced from 250,000 yuan, made its debut at the Beijing auto show and drew significant early interest — according to Bloomberg, customers placed over 30,000 orders in the vehicle's first day of availability. The model is equipped with BYD's latest generation of blade batteries, which the company says can cover close to 1,000 kilometers on a single charge.

BYD's quarterly profit plunged as China's EV price war eroded margins

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