BYD said its third-quarter net income fell sharply as slowing sales and stiffer competition dragged on performance, marking a rare revenue decline for China’s largest new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer.
The company reported a net income of RMB 7.82 billion ($1.1 billion) for the July–September period, down 32.6% from a year earlier, according to its financial results. That marks the second consecutive year-on-year decline in quarterly profit, though earnings rose 23.1% from the previous quarter.
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After excluding non-recurring items, BYD’s adjusted net income was RMB 6.89 billion, down 36.7% year-on-year, underscoring weaker profitability in its core operations.
Quarterly revenue fell 3.1% from a year earlier to RMB 195 billion — the company’s first decline in several years — and slipped 3.0% from the previous quarter. BYD said the drop was mainly due to softness in its automotive business.
BYD sold 1,114,192 new energy vehicles in the third quarter, down 1.8% year-on-year, marking its first sales decline since early 2021.
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The company’s operating costs rose to RMB 160.64 billion, pushing its gross margin down to 17.6%, a decrease of 6.1 percentage points from a year earlier but an improvement of 1.35 points from the previous quarter.
For the first nine months of the year, BYD’s net income totaled RMB 23.33 billion, down 7.6% from a year earlier, while revenue grew 12.8% to RMB 566.27 billion. The earnings slowdown highlights mounting pressure on the company as rivals such as Geely Auto launch more aggressively priced electric models in China’s increasingly competitive market.
