BYD sold 1.32 million electric vehicles in the third quarter of 2026
Image: BYD
The Chinese automaker BYD sold 1,323,065 vehicles with electric powertrains worldwide in the third quarter of 2026. This represents a 18.75 percent increase compared to the same period last year, while sales rose by 19.41 percent compared to the second quarter.
The figures include both battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, as well as electrified commercial vehicles. In September, BYD achieved its highest monthly sales volume of 2026 with 463,561 vehicles sold. This figure was 16.98 percent higher than in September 2025 and 5.28 percent higher than in August 2026. The manufacturer had already sold 419,211 vehicles in July, and 440,293 units in August. As a result, monthly sales continued to rise throughout the third quarter.
The business for pure battery electric passenger cars showed particularly strong growth in September. According to BYD, the company sold 273,143 electric vehicles, about 33.2 percent more than in the same month last year. In contrast, sales of plug-in hybrids slightly declined to 183,570 units. Additionally, there were 6,848 electric commercial vehicles, meaning battery electric passenger cars accounted for roughly 59 percent of total monthly sales.
Despite a strong third quarter, BYD remains below last year’s level for the full year to date. From January to September 2026, the company sold a total of 3,131,576 vehicles, representing a 3.94 percent decline. While sales of pure battery-electric cars increased by 1.5 percent to 1,629,957 units in the first nine months, sales of plug-in hybrid cars dropped by 10.19 percent to 1,448,587 vehicles. Thus, the growth in the third quarter has not yet fully offset the weaker results from the first half of the year.
The international business is playing an increasingly important role. In September, BYD reported exporting 180,700 electric vehicles. According to Reuters, overseas deliveries already reached 189,466 units in August, more than double the figure from a year earlier.
BYD has also expanded its market presence in Germany. According to registration data analysis, 6,040 new passenger cars of this brand were registered there in September 2026, compared to 5,256 in August. Of these, 2,194 were purely battery-electric models. The German market as a whole saw 88,599 new electric passenger cars registered in September, accounting for 34.5 percent of all new car registrations. BYD is present in the German market with both fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
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Thomas Langenbucher is an expert in electromobility with professional experience in the automotive and financial industries. Since 2011, he has been covering electric cars, sustainable technologies, and mobility solutions for ecomento.de. Learn more.
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