BYD sales have fallen 41% in China. It is the biggest symptom that something much more serious is happening in your industry.

They are very specific days but the data is the data. And the data says much more because of what it hides than what it says at first. BYD has fallen 41% in sales during the Chinese New Year holidays. The problem is that the Chinese market seems to be slowing down. And BYD isn’t the only company feeling it.

41%. This is, as we said, how much BYD sales have fallen in China during the month of February 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. The data is provided by CarNewsChina where it is also noted that it is 9.5% less than last January, so the trend does not invite optimism.

In the middle they point out that this fall coincides with a Chinese New Year that in 2026 has completely departed the month of February. These are days in which sales inevitably fall because citizens live immersed in the largest migration in the world and this year has been one of the longest festive periods in recent years.

In 2025, these festivals occupied the last days of January so that during the remainder of the month they were able to reach cruising speed, which exacerbates the decline.

The price war. BYD’s low sales are exacerbated by a stagnating local market. To continue encouraging sales, BYD, Tesla or Xiaomi are offering financing for seven years. Something common in our country but a rarity that is becoming consolidated in China and that makes another detail clear: there is no room to continue lowering prices.

Already in January, the China Passenger Car Association announced that sales had fallen 13.9% compared to the same month in 2025. The situation was more complicated among “new energy” vehicles, as plug-in hybrids, electric and extended-range electric vehicles are called. In this case, the drop reached 20%.

Obviously, for BYD, Tesla or Xiaomi, who only offer electric or plug-in cars, the former, the situation is more delicate.

A must-see. Exporting has become an almost obligatory outlet for BYD. Although its sales have decreased in the local market, exports have exceeded 100,000 units and that represents a growth of more than 50%. And there are already four consecutive months with shipments of this volume, they point out in CarNewsChina.

Although BYD’s progress had been slow in Europe until recently, in 2025 they grew 270% on our continent. January has also been a good year (they almost triple their position compared to January 2025, they point out in The Energy Newspaper) and is a boost to a policy that has opted to give more for less money within plug-in vehicles.

If we talk about Spain, one of the most important countries for BYD right now outside of China, BYD has placed two electric cars among the 10 best-selling cars so far this year and another two among the five best-selling plug-in hybrids.

Much more than a symptom. Although we have focused on BYD sales, what is clear is that in 2026, car sales will not start in China. In The New York Times They reflect the drop in the company’s share price, which has lost part of the support of investors.

But the problem goes beyond the brand’s headquarters. Mike Smithfrom Washington and Lee University, points out to the American media that 40% of the vehicle production generated by China is not being used, according to his calculations.

This is not the first time that there has been talk of Chinese overproduction of automobiles. The constant evolutions in the product have made products launched just a few months before obsolete, pushing the price war even further. And with a country overproducing cars and evolutions at a dizzying pace, it is logical that the customer stops purchasing, expecting a better car at a better price in the short term.

Photo | EEYAUT Waihung on Wikimedia

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