China's number one carmaker has plans for world domination

BYD has reportedly outlined plans to sell half of its vehicles outside the Chinese domestic market by 2030, a move that would see it tussling with the likes of current automotive giants including Toyota and Ford.

According to sources referenced by Reuters, BYD aims to source this growth through rapid expansions in Europe and Latin America, since the United States is effectively off-limits for all Chinese brands as a result of hefty import tariffs.

Europe in particular is a significant target for BYD, even if its fully electric vehicles (EVs) are subject to a 27 per cent tariff when sold on the continent. There’s a 10 per cent tariff on its plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) too, which BYD also sells – unlike rival Tesla.

While it’s understood that a numerical target was communicated to BYD’s investors, it’s not clear whether it includes a number for global sales by 2030. Still, current speculation suggests a fast rate of growth to achieve this massive climb.

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BYD sold 4.27 million vehicles globally last year, which saw it push past MG parent SAIC Motor to become China’s largest carmaker by volume. The Chinese giant also sold more vehicles than Honda (3.81 million sales) and Nissan (3.35 million sales), putting it comfortably in the top 10, but it fell short of titans like Toyota and the Volkswagen Group.

However, Reuters reports that nearly nine in 10 BYD vehicles sold last year were in China.

If the Chinese portion of vehicle sales were to be maintained over the next five years – roughly 3.8 million based on current percentages – BYD would likely need to up its global sales to at least nine million units.

This figure would put it in the same league as Toyota, which sold 10.7 million vehicles globally in 2024, and the Volkswagen Group, which sold nine million.

BYD’s 2024 sales record wasn’t too far off the figures posted by Ford and General Motors, and the fact the number of 4.27 million grew from less than 430,000 in less than five years suggests rapid growth for the remainder of the decade is entirely possible.

That will likely cause headaches for brands outside of China. BYD’s rapid growth in that market has already seen it unseat Volkswagen in 2024 to become the best-selling brand there.

Brands from markets like Europe, the US, Korea and Japan have stumbled of late in China as domestic brands like BYD have surged, though that also shows there’s plenty of strong competition that BYD itself has to face.

Ford CEO Jim Farley acknowledged BYD at a recent investor conference, reportedly labelling it as a leading threat in “a global race” for profitable EVs, and stating the US brand has to “compete and win against BYD”.

Reuters reports that industry analysts expect BYD’s global sales to slow slightly in 2025, hitting five million units albeit with a reduced 80 per cent skew towards its domestic market.

While it has grown rapidly in markets like Australia, its European rollout hasn’t gone as smoothly. However, it has adapted, switching from an EV-only strategy there to also offering PHEVs which face lower tariffs.

It sold 3269 PHEVs in Europe in March 2025, and overall for the first quarter of this year its total sales there almost quadrupled to 37,201 units.

BYD is still fortunate to avoid the higher European tariffs of up to 45.3 per cent on some other Chinese EV brands.

In any case, such ambitious global expansion will be difficult to achieve without the US as an available market.

BYD reportedly aims to capitalise on its growth and success in China, as well as the fact that its yearly revenues reached a record-high 770 billion Chinese yuan (~A$168 billion) in 2024.

One reports claims BYD’s ambitious targets are a factor of the brand’s belief that “they have the right products to repeat their Chinese success in overseas markets”, pointing to the brand’s prioritisation of PHEVs in Europe.

It’s expanding its global presence not just through exports from China, but also by establishing manufacturing operations in various global markets.

BYD is planning to open a plant in Hungary this year, followed by another in Turkey and then a third in Europe. It also opened a plant in Thailand last year and is constructing another in Brazil – though the latter has been the subject of controversy due to the treatment of its Chinese workers.

The brand has also outlined an interest in constructing a plant in Mexico to serve markets in the Americas.

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