BYD aims to overtake Toyota in five years without relying on the US market
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BYD aims to overtake Toyota in five years without relying on the US market
2 min to read
Jul 15, 2026 5:29 PM CEST
Denis Bobylev
The BYD Atto 2 DM-i is one of the brand's overseas sales drivers. Credit: BYD
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BYD expects to surpass Toyota as the bestselling automaker in five years without access to the US market, executive vice president Stella Li shared. The company is ramping up its overseas presence, targeting Europe, Latin America, South-east Asia, and Australia.
Stella Li made this bold statement shortly after BYD had achieved the cumulative NEV production volume of 17 million units. It is worth noting that the company picked up the pace in recent years. The BYD’s 1 millionth NEV rolled off the production line in May 2021. In November 2024, BYD produced 10 million new energy vehicles. What is more, it took the company six months to jump from 15 to 17 million assembled NEVs.
According to China EV DataTracker, BYD stopped falling Year-Over-Year in May 2026 after eight consecutive months of passenger car sales decline as the company shifts priorities towards foreign sales. In H1 2026, BYD sold 1,777,321 cars globally, down 16.1% Y-O-Y. Its domestic deliveries dropped by 45.9% to 795,169 units. However, the steady growth of BYD’s overseas sales could offset the domestic decline in H2.
Back to Stella Li, she shared with Financial Times that BYD set the mentioned goal based on the organic growth. Executive VP highlighted that this result can be achieved without relying on the US market, which established high tariffs on China-made cars.
The first BYD’s flash charger in the UK. Credit: He Zhiqi
Stella Li stated that BYD doesn’t need to acquire automakers to boost sales and take the crown from Toyota. If a suitable opportunity arises in the future, the company would not rule out acquiring European luxury brands. But at present there are no specific acquisition targets.
Last month, BYD founder and chairman, Wang Chuanfu, also announced plans to surpass Toyota and become the world’s bestselling automaker within the same period. According to the head of the company, this result could be achieved by rapid leveraging of charging technology and explosive overseas growth.
Last year, BYD sold 4.55 million cars globally. For comparison, Toyota sold 10.5 million units (excluding Daihatsu and Hino). For 2026, BYD has guided for 5.0 to 5.5 million total global NEV sales, including 1.5 million overseas.
BYD
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