BYD sales slump by 41 percent in China's domestic market

China (ANTARA) - For almost three years, BYD seemed to be infallible, launching new models, expanding its product range and watching sales climb rapidly. But early 2026 is proceeding much more slowly than expected, allowing other Chinese automakers such as Geely to overtake them. Carscoops reported on Friday (6 March) that in the first two months of this year BYD sold 400,241 vehicles, down 36% from the same period a year earlier. Of that total, 190,190 were sold in February, down 9.5% from January. The decline is largely attributed to the Lunar New Year holiday, but when compared with February last year, sales were down as much as 41%. Diminishing tax incentives and waning buyer confidence appear to be cooling the market. Many prospective buyers are choosing to wait and see what new models will be released and whether the government’s trade‑in/tukar tambah schemes will become clearer before they spend. While BYD is facing a tough period, several other Chinese producers are performing differently. Leapmotor, a Stellantis partner, saw sales rise 19% in the first two months of 2026 to 60,126 units. Xiaomi’s EV division grew 48% year-on-year to over 59,000 units. Zeekr reported an 84% jump in January–February, while Nio’s vehicle deliveries rose 77%. Geely is also performing strongly. So far this year, the company has delivered around 76,000 more vehicles than BYD, marking the first time since 2022 that Geely has sold more vehicles than BYD for at least two consecutive months. Although Geely currently leads in the Chinese market, the company is somewhat behind in overseas markets with total exports of 181,891 vehicles so far this year. BYD’s CEO Wang Chuanfu acknowledged increasing pressure from competitors since December, noting that rival manufacturers are narrowing the technological gap that previously gave BYD a clear edge — something that now appears to be reflected in the sales figures.