BYD’s overseas sales surged to a new record as its global EV plans kick into high gear

The world’s largest EV maker is quickly making a name for itself on a global scale. With overseas sales surging 83% last month, BYD is looking for even more market share in 2025.

BYD sets new overseas EV sales record in January 2025

BYD sold over 300,500 new energy vehicles (NEVs) last month, up nearly 50% from January 2023. Like most Chinese automakers, BYD reports NEV sales, including battery electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles.

Although sales were up year-over-year (YOY), they weren’t quite as high as the over 500,000 vehicles sold in September, November, and December to close out 2024.

BYD’s commercial vehicle sales reached 4,092, up 793% from January 2023 (474). Of the 296,446 passenger vehicles sold last month, 125,377 were EVs, while the other 171,069 were plug-in hybrids, up 19% and 79% from last year, respectively.

Last month, the “Ocean” series was BYD’s top-selling series, with 145,918 units sold, followed by the Dynasty lineup (132,293).

BYD’s Song Plus (PHEV and EV) was the best-selling model in the lineup, with over 51,300 sold last month. Its low-cost Seagull EV, starting at under $10,000 in China, was the second-best seller, with 41,212 sold last month.

Other brand sales included 6,219 Fang Cheng Bao models, 11,720 Denza vehicles, and 286 Yangwang luxury models.

The biggest bright spot was BYD’s overseas sales. BYD sold a record 66,336 NEVs overseas in January, up 83% from last year and 16% from December (57,154).

Behind CATL, BYD is also China’s second-largest power battery maker. The company installed 15.511 GWh of power and energy storage battery capacity last month, 37% YOY, but down from 23.495 GWh in December.

BYD is opening several new EV plants overseas as it looks to gain market share in key markets. After opening its first in Thailand last year, BYD is expanding with new plants in Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, Hungary, Turkey, and Pakistan.

Electrek’s Take

Like the US and most countries, China’s auto market is seasonal. The end of the year is usually the strongest, while the beginning is slower.

The Chinese New Year, when sales are especially slow this year, runs from January 28 to February 4. Most automakers in China reported lower sales numbers to start the year than in December, but they are still higher than the previous year as the market continues shifting to EVs.

BYD, which stopped making vehicles entirely powered by gas engines in 2022, is aggressively expanding into new overseas markets with competitively priced models.

After outselling Honda and Nissan for the first time in 2024, will BYD continue climbing the global sales ranks this year? It could be on pace to top Ford. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: BYD, CnEVPost