China’s largest automaker, BYD, saw a 20% year-on-year decrease in global vehicle sales to 429,808 units in October, down from 536,134 units a year earlier, signaling a significant decline in market performance. Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) rose by over 6% to 219,382 units, while plug-in-hybrid vehicle sales dropped by 37% to 204,792 units.

Despite the October decline, BYD’s global vehicle sales were up by over 10% to 3,643,377 units in the first ten months of the year. This includes a 30% increase in BEV sales to 1,797,558 units, but a nearly 6% decrease in plug-in-hybrid vehicle sales to 1,798,082 units. Commercial vehicle sales also rose significantly by 164% year-on-year.

BYD reported a 33% year-on-year decrease in net profits to CNY 7.8 billion (US$1.1 billion) in the third quarter of 2025, the second consecutive quarterly decline. Revenues fell by 3% to CNY 195 billion in the third quarter, while global vehicle sales dropped by 1.8% to 1,114,192 units – the first year-on-year decline in over four years.

In the first nine months of the year, BYD’s revenues increased by 12.7% to CNY 566 billion, while net profits fell by 7.5% to CNY 23.3 billion. The company cited strong price competition in its domestic market and overseas as factors contributing to the decline in profits.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: BYD’s global sales plunge 20% in October