China’s largest new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer BYD reported a sharp decline in sales in January, underscoring mounting pressure on the domestic auto market as seasonal weakness and reduced policy support weighed on demand.
BYD sold 210,051 NEVs in January, down 30.11% from a year earlier and 50.04% from December, according to company data released on Sunday. The figures include both passenger and commercial vehicles.
Passenger NEV sales totaled 205,518 units, falling 30.67% year on year and 50.45% month on month. Within that segment, battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales dropped to 83,249 units, down 33.60% from a year earlier and 56.35% from December. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales declined to 122,269 units, marking a 28.53% year-on-year decrease and extending a run of annual declines to ten consecutive months.
Commercial NEV sales offered a partial offset, rising 10.78% year on year to 4,533 units, though still down 19.26% from December.
Exports remained a relative bright spot. BYD shipped 100,482 NEVs overseas in January, up 51.47% from a year earlier, although exports also declined 24.55% compared with December, reflecting softer global momentum at the start of the year.
Beyond vehicle sales, BYD—also China’s second-largest power battery producer—reported combined installations of power and energy storage batteries totaling about 20.187 gigawatt-hours in January. That represented a 30.15% year-on-year increase but a 26.20% decline from December.
The broader industry has faced headwinds since late 2025. Entering 2026, Chinese NEV buyers are subject to a 5% purchase tax after the expiration of a full tax exemption, while trade-in subsidies in several cities lapsed at the end of last year. Although authorities have extended subsidy programs with revised terms, the market remains in a transitional phase, contributing to weaker demand at the start of the year.