Even Thailand's Prime Minister drives a BYD electric vehicle (EV) amid rising fuel prices. As overseas sales continue to grow, BYD said it is "very confident" it can sell 1.5 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) in overseas markets by 2026.
See also: Nvidia's Jensen Huang: "I think we've achieved AGI"
BYD sold 300,222 NEVs in March, including pure electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models. While that’s a 57% from February, it’s 20% lower than the roughly 377,500 it sold in March 2025. March marked the seventh consecutive month of lower sales compared to the previous year as new low-cost competitors entered the market.
To boost growth this year, BYD is betting on overseas markets, including Europe, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. In March, BYD exported 120,083 NEVs, a huge 65% increase over March 2025. Of these, 119,591 were passenger cars and trucks.
In the first three months of 2026, BYD has sold 321,165 NEVs overseas. With local production and the launch of new models in almost every segment, the company believes this is just the beginning. BYD told analysts on a private call on Monday that it is “very confident” it will meet its goal of selling 1.5 million NEVs overseas in 2026. That is 15% more than the 1.3 million overseas sales the company forecast in January.
See also: Nvidia's DLSS 5 is like motion smoothing for video games, but worse
BYD said markets outside China could eventually account for half of its sales, two sources said. In March, overseas sales already accounted for 40%, so it could reach half within the next month or so. With gas and oil prices rising due to rising tensions in the Middle East, BYD is reportedly seeing increased demand for EVs.
At a BYD dealership in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, demand is so high that it has booked a month’s worth of orders in just two weeks. A salesperson at the dealership told Bloomberg that “customers are switching units to EVs due to rising oil prices.” Even Thailand’s Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, was seen driving a BYD Sealion 07 EV this week amid rising fuel and oil prices.
See also: China's BYD and Geely to use Nvidia's robotaxi platform
Surapong Paisitpatnapong, a spokesman for the automotive industry group the Federation of Thai Industries, said last week that “We were previously less optimistic about EV demand in 2026, as the government’s lower subsidy made EV prices less attractive compared to conventional fuel-powered vehicles.” “If oil prices remain at current levels or increase further,” he added, “we expect a significant increase in EV demand.”
