BYD sold 120,000 NEVs overseas in March, but the EV giant says this is just the start

Even Thailand’s Prime Minister is driving a BYD EV amid surging gas prices. As overseas sales continue to rise, BYD said it’s “highly confident” it can sell 1.5 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) in overseas markets in 2026.

BYD bets it can sell 1.5 million NEVs overseas in 2026

BYD sold 300,222 NEVs in March, including purely electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models. Although that’s up 57% from February, it’s 20% fewer than the roughly 377,500 it sold in March 2025.

March marked BYD’s seventh consecutive month of lower sales than the year prior, as new low-cost competition entered the market.

To drive growth this year, BYD is betting on overseas markets, including Europe, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America.

In March, BYD exported 120,083 NEVs, a massive 65% jump from March 2025. Among them, 119,591 were passenger cars and pickup trucks.

Through the first three months of 2026, BYD has now sold 321,165 NEVs overseas. With localized production and new models launching across nearly every segment, the company believes this is just the start.

BYD told analysts on a private call on Monday (via Reuters) that it’s “highly confident” it will hit its goal of selling 1.5 million NEVs overseas in 2026. That’s 15% more than the 1.3 million overseas sales that the company forecasted in January.

According to two sources, BYD said that markets outside of China could eventually account for half of its sales. In March, overseas sales already accounted for 40%, so it could even reach half within the next month or so.

With gas and oil prices surging due to rising tensions in the Middle East, BYD is reportedly seeing higher demand for EVs.

At one BYD dealership in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, demand is so high that it booked a month’s worth of orders in just two weeks. Dominique Poh, A salesman at the dealership, told Bloomberg that “Clients are replacing units in favor of EVs because of the oil price hikes.”

Even Thailand’s Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, was spotted driving a BYD Sealion 07 EV this week amid surging gas and oil prices.

NEW: Thailand’s PM arrives at government house in personal EV as fuel prices climb amid Middle East war pic.twitter.com/33wXyCBXlO

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) March 31, 2026

Surapong Paisitpatnapong, spokesman for the Federation of Thai Industries’ automobile industry group, said last week that “We were previously less upbeat about EV demand in 2026, as the government’s lower subsidy made EV prices less attractive compared with conventional fuel-powered vehicles.”

“If oil prices stay at current levels or rise further,” he added, “we expect a significant increase in EV demand.” And Thailand isn’t alone. Several markets have reported higher demand for EVs as gas and oil prices rise.

Since launching its first vehicles equipped with its new Blade Battery 2.0 and Flash Charging tech, BYD has seen a recent uptick in orders in China. With the new tech headed overseas, BYD is betting the growth will accelerate over the next few months.