BYD overtook Tesla — then ran straight into a price war at home

In 2025 BYD (比亚迪) officially became the world's largest EV maker — 2.26 million battery-electric vehicles sold, roughly 620,000 more than Tesla. Annual revenue hit 804 billion yuan (about $113 billion), the first time the company crossed the 800 billion mark.

A record with an asterisk

Net profit fell 18.97% to 32.62 billion yuan (about $4.7 billion) — gross margin narrowed to 17.7%. The company sold more cars, earned more revenue, but noticeably less profit per unit sold. The reason: a domestic price war in China's auto market, where dozens of manufacturers are cutting prices simultaneously to hold onto share.

Early 2026 got tougher

In Q1 2026, BYD's sales dropped 25% year over year — 310,389 EVs delivered. Tesla, over the same period, grew 6.5% — 358,023 vehicles. The balance of power flipped for a single quarter, showing that leadership in this market isn't guaranteed for years — it's the result of a constant fight over price and lineup.

What this means if you're buying or partnering

A price war is a risk, but also an opportunity: manufacturers losing domestic share are more willing to offer flexible terms to foreign partners, and more willing to show how production actually works rather than just a showroom. It's exactly in periods of turbulence like this that you can tell which suppliers can quickly adapt their lineup to new conditions and which are simply coasting on past volume.

What you see on the ground

The China's Auto & EV Industry Expedition is a visit to production sites in the middle of exactly this kind of competitive fight — not a polished presentation, but a factory changing its lineup and pricing in real time, responding to what competitors do.