China's automotive market is facing a notable downturn, with passenger car sales declining by 22% compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the Chinese Passenger Car Association (CPCA). This drop has been influenced by the end of subsidies for electric vehicle purchases at the end of 2025, which reduced consumer demand. The market is also highly competitive, with at least 129 manufacturers vying for market share. BYD, a major player in the electric vehicle sector, reclaimed the title of the world's leading seller of fully electric vehicles in the second quarter of 2026, after losing it in the first quarter. However, the company has not been unaffected by the broader market challenges, with its registrations in China falling by 45.9% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Despite these domestic challenges, BYD has experienced a substantial growth in its international sales. According to figures published by BYD on October 1, 2026, and analyzed by Reuters, the company's sales of cars and pickup trucks outside of China surged by 153.9% year-on-year in September 2026, reaching 179,877 units. This includes a range of utility vehicles. Over the first nine months of 2026, 42.7% of BYD's electric and plug-in hybrid car sales were made outside of China, totaling 1,337,831 vehicles. This represents a significant increase from the previous year, with the export share more than doubling. In September 2026, sales outside of China accounted for 39% of the total for BYD, compared to 18% in September 2025. Over nine months, BYD has already exported more vehicles than in the entire year of 2025 (1.05 million). BYD's total sales over nine months remain 4% lower than those of the same period in 2025, as reported by Bloomberg. In exports, BYD initially aimed for about 1.5 million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2026, but this target was raised to 1.9 to 2 million after its semi-annual results. With 1.34 million vehicles exported by the end of September, it still needs to sell between 560,000 and 660,000 units outside of China by December, or approximately 190,000 to 220,000 per month, at the level of its August record (189,466 vehicles exported) or above. BYD's global sales increased by 17% year-on-year in September, reaching 463,561 units, slightly less than the increase of 17.8% in August. With 3.13 million sales over nine months, BYD is still far from its annual target of 5 to 5.5 million vehicles. In China, its sales have further declined by 13% year-on-year in September, to 282,861 vehicles. In its home market, the Chinese company also faces competition from Geely, which presented on September 23 a charging station with a peak power of 2.25 MW, exceeding the 1.5 MW of BYD's Flash Charging (the Lynk & Co 10 tested reached a maximum of 1,093 kW). BYD now generates 53% of its revenue outside of China, a first for the company. It is particularly focusing on Europe, where it will produce its cars: its Hungarian plant, the first of the group in Europe for passenger cars, is set to start assembly in November or December. This will also allow it to avoid current tariffs. In the meantime, the company is also relying on its plug-in hybrid models, although these last ones pollute in real use up to five times more than announced.