SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD aims to increase its sales outside of China to 800,000 vehicles by 2025 and hopes to overcome tariffs by pooling cars locally, telling analysts on Tuesday’s revenue call.
BYD, which sold 417,204 units overseas in 2024, expects its market share in the UK to “significantly increase” – a “very open” to competitive Chinese products.
He said the company also believes that governments and people are “huge opportunities” to be friendly to Chinese brands in Latin America and Southeast Asian countries.
With the government weighing or imposing tariffs on Chinese-made cars abroad, BYD plans to maintain its cost advantage by purchasing key components from China and assembling cars in local markets, but does not specify the country he refers to.
Byd did not immediately respond to Wednesday’s request for comment.
Byd leads the overseas push of Chinese automakers, opening showrooms from Australia to Germany as it seeks to find a breather in the brutal price war at home.
Wang said last year that Bied expects exports to help improve profitability. At Tuesday’s meeting, he told analysts that he hoped most of the ratios came from overseas markets “at some stage.” He did not specify the time to achieve this.
Wang added that the company will continue to build factories overseas without partners because it has abundant funding.
Byd is currently building a factory in Brazil, the largest market outside China, despite the development being hit last year with allegations of labour abuse. The automaker also builds factories in Thailand, Hungary and Türkiye.
In addition, Wang said that due to geopolitical developments, Bied has no plans to sell to Canada and the United States in the short term. Like Canada, the Trump administration retains 100% of its responsibilities on electric vehicles made in China.
Wang told analysts he is convinced that Byd will surpass Toyota’s profitability when Byd reaches the scale of a Japanese manufacturer, saying Byd’s cost control is better.
Toyota Motor Corporation is the world’s top automaker, selling 10.8 million cars in 2024, while Byd sold 4.27 million.
BYD, which aims to 5.5 million units this year, has sparked the Chinese auto market by launching more affordable models, including its entry-level Seagull electric hatchback, which costs less than $10,000. It also doesn’t require additional smart driving capabilities in most of its lineup.
