BYD’s net profit jumped 28% on the year between July and September, extending a rebound in the previous quarter as weak consumer demand at home was offset by the electric vehicle giant’s aggressive overseas push.
Last month, the Shenzhen-based automaker reported a net income of RMB 10 billion (USD 1.5 billion), compared with RMB 7.8 billion (USD 1.2 billion) in the same period last year. The rise came after the world’s top electric vehicle seller broke a four-quarter streak of profit slumps in the second quarter, stemming from sluggish sales and a bruising price war in its domestic market.
Revenue increased 14% year-on-year to RMB 221.5 billion (USD 33.1 billion) in the third quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimate of RMB 240.83 billion (USD 36 billion), according to Visible Alpha.
BYD sold a total of 1.32 million pure battery-powered vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars in the third quarter, up 19% from a year earlier. Despite a 12% decrease in domestic sales, exports surged 137% to a record high of 550,704 units.
Unlike the razor-thin margins on vehicles sold in China’s fiercely competitive market, BYD has found overseas markets more lucrative, where the same models can command substantial premiums from consumers with greater purchasing power.
In the first half of the year, BYD generated more than 50% of its total revenue from overseas markets for the first time.
The group earns roughly ten times more net profit per vehicle abroad than in China, CLSA analyst Feng Xiao estimated. As a result, 80–90% of its earnings are generated outside China.
BYD’s global expansion is “fully offsetting” the pressure it faces at home, with modest fluctuations in domestic sales no longer “moving the needle” on its overall profitability, Feng said.
However, he warned that surging exports of China-made EVs could hit a ceiling.
“There’s a limit,” he said. “You can’t expect BYD or other [Chinese] OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to export too many cars without facing tariffs or pushback from foreign governments.”
In addition to tariffs, recent policy changes—including the European Union’s cap on imports of Chinese hybrid vehicles and Beijing’s reduction in value-added tax rebates for exported EVs—have prompted China’s carmakers to ramp up efforts to localize manufacturing.
BYD will open a new factory in Europe “very quickly,” vice pesident Liu Xueliang told a press briefing in Hong Kong last month, referring to the company’s plan to begin mass production at its plant in Hungary by the end of the year.
Liu added that BYD’s assembly facilities in Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia would also help shield the automaker’s Southeast Asian operations from the impact of lower tax export rebates.
“Overseas growth has provided a positive effect for BYD’s domestic business,” Liu said.
Rival Geely Automobile has also benefited from expanding globally. The Hangzhou-based automaker reported a third-quarter net profit of RMB 4.8 billion (USD 717.9 million), a 28% growth from a year earlier, according to a filing with the Hong Kong bourse. Revenue came in at RMB 99 billion (USD 14.8 billion), up 10% year-on-year.
Geely shipped nearly 800,000 vehicles abroad in the first nine months of the year, a 169% hike from the same period last year.
Management attributed the increase to its global expansion, cost-cutting initiatives and a higher share of premium models in its product mix at an earnings conference.
However, Geely’s net profit fell short of the market expectations of RMB 5.19 billion (USD 776.2 million).
“Management is not very content with the quarterly results,” vice chair Gui Shengyue said. “Over the past three months, we’ve encountered challenges unlike anything we’ve seen before … with every model in our line-up coming under assault from similar products offered by competitors.”
“China’s auto industry is currently going through the harshest winter in history,” he added.
The company is pinning its hopes on booming overseas demand. It has a backlog of 20,000–30,000 vehicle orders in Brazil, management said. The automaker is also looking to utilize production capacity in the UK at Lotus and London black-cab maker LEVC, both owned by parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
Losses at Volvo Cars, meanwhile, have weighed on Geely Holding, which is also the majority shareholder of the Swedish automaker. Volvo announced on October 23 that it would cut 2,500 jobs—the second round of cuts in a year—after reporting an adjusted operating loss of SEK 3.7 billion (USD 373 million) in the third quarter, compared with a profit of SEK 5.8 billion (USD 591.1 million) a year earlier.
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.
Note: RMB, SEK figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.69 = USD 1 and SEK 9.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of November 10, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are approximate and, where appropriate, rounded for ease of reference. They may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.