Historic moment! BYD's global sales surpass Ford for the first time

BYD (002594), focused on new energy vehicles, has achieved its first global sales surpassing traditional automaker Ford.

Latest data shows that Ford’s wholesale sales in 2025 will be less than 4.4 million units, which is below BYD’s previously announced annual sales of 4.6 million units for 2025. This also means that BYD has for the first time overtaken the century-old automaker Ford, ranking among the top six global automakers in sales for 2025.

BYD Continues to Narrow the Gap with Global Auto Giants

On February 11, Ford released its latest financial report, with total revenue of $45.9 billion in the fourth quarter, a 4.8% decrease year-on-year; adjusted EBIT of $1.04 billion, down 51% year-on-year; and adjusted earnings per share of $0.13.

In terms of global sales, Ford’s wholesale volume in 2025 is nearly 2% lower than the previous year, slightly below 4.4 million units. BYD’s wholesale volume exceeds 4.6 million units, ranking sixth globally, behind Toyota’s 11.32 million, Volkswagen Group’s 8.98 million, Hyundai-Kia’s 7.27 million, General Motors’ 6.18 million, and Stellantis’ 5.6 million.

Ford was founded in 1903 and was once one of the world’s four major automotive groups. The company is known for pioneering assembly line production, and the mass production of the Ford Model T once promoted global automobile popularization, profoundly influencing the development model of the global auto industry. In 1995, Ford officially entered the Chinese market, establishing joint ventures with Changan Automobile and Jiangling Motors (000550), introducing models such as Explorer and Mustang.

Looking back ten years, in 2015, Ford’s global sales were 6.635 million units, while BYD’s total vehicle sales in 2015 were 380,000 units, with 58,000 units of new energy vehicles.

On April 3, 2022, BYD announced that it would cease production of fuel vehicles. In 2022, BYD, focusing on new energy vehicle production and sales, achieved a total sales volume of 1.8685 million units, a year-on-year increase of 152.5%, becoming the leader in China’s new energy vehicle market. In the same year, Ford’s global cumulative sales reached 4.23 million units. Industry experts told Shanghai Securities News that over ten years, BYD’s rapid development and overtaking of traditional auto giants like Ford is a microcosm of the fast growth of Chinese new energy vehicle companies.

In overseas markets, BYD has acquired and transformed Ford’s factory in Camaçari, Brazil, into a new energy vehicle manufacturing plant. On October 9, 2025, BYD’s 14 millionth new energy vehicle rolled off the production line at the Brazilian factory.

Domestic Automakers’ Per-Unit Profit and Other Metrics Need Improvement

While Chinese new energy vehicle companies like BYD are developing rapidly, many international automakers still hold advantages in metrics such as per-vehicle profit. According to estimates, Toyota’s net profit per vehicle in 2025 will be close to 18,000 RMB. BYD’s net profit per vehicle in 2024 is approximately 8,500 RMB.

Data from the Passenger Car Market Information Joint Branch of the China Automobile Circulation Association (referred to as “Carmarket Branch”) shows that in December 2025, the Chinese auto industry revenue was 1.16 trillion RMB, down 0.8% year-on-year; costs were 1.01 trillion RMB, up 0.8%; profits were 20 billion RMB, down 57.4%; and the profit margin was 1.8%, a significant decline compared to 4.1% in December 2024, with a notable decrease from the 11-month high.

Carmarket Branch Secretary-General Cui Dongshu analyzed that, alongside rising unit costs, automakers are facing challenges such as sharp increases in lithium carbonate prices, high commodity prices, ongoing pressure from raw material costs, and declining gross margins per vehicle in the industry. The downward trend in automotive industry profits warrants attention and active efforts to reverse it.