BYD Overtakes Volkswagen as World's No. 2-Selling Car Brand — Only Toyota Now Sells More

SHENZHEN — August 2026 marked a landmark in the global car industry: BYD sold 440,293 vehicles worldwide, overtaking the Volkswagen brand (about 384,000) to become the world's second best-selling car brand, behind only Toyota's 721,000. VW fell 12.3% year-on-year while BYD grew 17.8% — the month the two growth curves crossed.

Exports are the engine

Overseas sales hit a fifth straight monthly record of 189,466 units, up 134.6% — now 43% of volume — and January–August deliveries reached 1.16 million, already beating all of 2025. Three Chinese brands made the global top ten: BYD, Chery sixth (280,128) and Geely seventh (270,100), while Ford and GM trail near 230,000.

Local production cushions at home

Locally built cars in Thailand, Brazil and Hungary are cushioning a 14.3% domestic dip, and management targets 2.5 million overseas sales in 2027 at roughly 20,000 yuan profit per car. One caveat: BYD Australia recalled 32,009 Shark 6 utes over a spare-wheel cable fault — rising scale brings rising scrutiny.

Release date: September 17, 2026 · Shenzhen, China