After more than a year of nonstop growth, Chinese EV giant BYD just logged its first production dip in 16 months.
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The Tesla competitor said in a voluntary update to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday that it built 317,892 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in July, down 0.9% from the same month last year. Sales, however, managed to edge up 0.6% to 344,296 vehicles.
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Battery cars up, hybrids lagging
Under the hood, the numbers tell a more mixed story:
- Battery EVs remain BYD’s growth engine. Production climbed to 160,050 units in July from 125,808 a year ago, while sales jumped 40% to 177,887 units.
- Plug-in hybrids are losing steam. July production fell 24.6% to 155,219 units and sales dropped 22.6% to 163,143 units compared with last year.
- Commercial EVs — including buses — were a rare bright spot, with production up more than 390% from last July, though volumes are still relatively small.
Still strong over the longer haul
Looking at the year so far, BYD has built 2.45 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) and sold 2.49 million, both up more than 25% from the first seven months of 2024. The company also shipped out 80,737 units in July and reported battery and energy storage installations of 22.35 GWh for the month, bringing the 2025 total to 156.88 GWh.
From record highs to a more cautious pace
BYD hasn’t posted a year-over-year production decline since February 2024, when the Lunar New Year holiday slowed output across the industry. After hitting record production and sales late last year, the automaker has dialed things back this year as it weathers a brutal price war in China’s EV market.
That competition has already prompted the company to cut back shifts at some plants and delay expansion plans.
Even with this summer slowdown, BYD remains the world’s biggest EV seller, having overtaken Tesla last year. The challenge now: how to keep that lead while growth cools in an increasingly crowded market.