Chinese car brand BYD’s global sales went up by 22 percent in July, which is good news as its vehicle sales are on an upward trend. However, despite the 22 percent spike in July, BYD is falling behind its annual global sales target.
BYD sold around 420,000 vehicles globally last month, according to a report by Bloomberg. As such, the car brand managed to sell 1.81 million vehicles in the first half of 2026, which means that BYD needs to achieve average sales of about 530,000 vehicles per month until the end of the year to reach its annual global sales target of five million units sold.
The slowdown in BYD’s global sales is attributed to the car brand’s idled assembly lines to make way for upgraded batteries. Bloomberg added that BYD’s July sales were driven by exports, translating to 43 percent of the brand’s July sales total. This is due to the brand’s aggressive push into markets such as South America and Europe.
In the Philippines, BYD is also gaining traction, and it has expanded its model lineup yet again with the launch of the Atto 2 and the new Seal 5. In other markets, BYD has introduced the DM-i 5.0 hybrid tech in the Seal 6 series, while it is also diving into the Japanese market’s kei car market with its Racco EV.
Despite the aggressive push in several markets, BYD’s global expansion is facing hiccups over alleged labor abuses in its Szeged manufacturing plant in Hungary, which is currently under construction. Meanwhile, Bloomberg added that a change of government in Budapest has ignited an investigation into “massive state subsidies, tax breaks, and environmental exemptions previously granted to BYD.”
As such, despite having a good July sales performance, BYD is facing a challenge when it comes to reaching its annual sales target. From here on out, the Chinese automaker should be able to yield sales of about 530,000 vehicles per month until the end of the year to reach its annual global sales target of five million units sold.
Autocar’s Take
BYD’s July sales indicate that the car brand has recorded a good sales performance by selling around 420,000 vehicles globally, a 22 percent increase. Despite that, BYD is falling behind when it comes to reaching its annual sales target of five million units sold. As mentioned, from here on out, BYD needs to record around 530,000 vehicles per month until the end of the year to reach its annual global sales target of five million units sold. This might be a daunting task, considering the other issues that BYD is facing.
