BYD First Half 2026 Financial Report: Sales 1.81 Million Units, Revenue 344.8 Billion

Recently, BYD's first half 2026 financial report was released.

In the first half, BYD achieved operating revenue of 344.815 billion yuan, net profit attributable to parent company of 12.325 billion yuan, scale continued to firmly rank at the forefront of the domestic automotive industry; R&D investment was 28.9 billion yuan, cash reserves 167.4 billion yuan, one side is actual cash technology investment, one side is a solid cash foundation.

On the sales front, in the first half, total vehicle sales exceeded 1.8 million units, continuing to firmly hold the top spot in global new energy vehicle sales. Putting these numbers together, the silhouette of a leader with a massive scale, stable cash flow, and continuing high-intensity investment is basically established.

Everyone has seen this market trend this year. The price war has been raging since the beginning of the year until now. Revenue and profits of mainstream domestic and foreign automakers have been affected to varying degrees. At this time, reviewing the leader's financial report actually best reveals who is holding on hard and who is building momentum.

Why does the current period profit not look impressive?

Many people ask this question; it is actually due to two factors:

First is exchange rates,during the same period last year, the RMB contributed over 3.1 billion yuan in exchange gains to BYD. This year, it recorded losses of several billion in reverse. One in, one out, totaling nearly 8 billion, all reflected in financial expenses. This part has nothing to do with the profitability of the main business;

Second is R&D,the 28.9 billion investment in the first half was 16.5 billion higher than the net profit in the same period, of which the expensed portion directly reduced the current period profit.

One is external disturbance, one is active spending, neither represents a problem with the main business. Whether the main business is actually good or not, Q2 data is the most honest. Single quarter net profit increased 30% year-on-year, gross margin 18.9%, reaching a new high in nearly a year. The signal of profitability recovery is quite clear.

Looking at the sales structure again, in recent years BYD has firmly pursued the premiumization strategy.

These three high-end brands Fang Cheng Bao, DENZA, and YANGWANG sold a combined 228,000 units with a year-on-year growth of 61%, accounting for 12.6% of the group's total sales. On average, 1 out of every 8 cars sold is a premium car.

Fang Cheng Bao is the strongest, 160,000 units in half a year, year-on-year 163%; DENZA monthly sales first broke 20,000 in June, average price stood around 360,000 yuan; YANGWANG in the million-level segment, is the fastest to sell 10,000 units among domestic new energy.

The premium matrix volume increase directly steadily lifted the average price per vehicle. This item is already ranked at the forefront among mainstream automakers.

The internationalization section is the part with the highest value in my opinion.

Overseas sales in the first half reached 790,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 68%. Business expanded to over 120 countries. UK, Brazil, Thailand several core markets directly won new energy sales champions. The more critical watershed is at the revenue end. For the first time, the proportion of overseas revenue in the first half exceeded half, for the first time surpassing the domestic market.

Some institutions calculated a figure. BYD's overseas average vehicle price is about 184,400 yuan, domestic is 127,200 yuan. The difference is nearly half. Selling the same car overseas is more profitable.

BYD is still moving factories overseas. Brazil and Thailand are already in production. Hungary will follow in the second half. Moving from product export to capacity export gives the confidence to bypass the tariff hurdle.

R&D investment of 28.9 billion yuan, where did it all go?

BYD invested 28.9 billion in R&D in the first half, cumulative total exceeds 270 billion. The second-generation Blade Battery and Flash Charging unveiled in March pushed mass production refueling speed to the global top tier. 10,000 Flash Charging stations built, covering 332 cities. In May, it became the only automaker globally to provide backing for both Smart Parking and City Navigation. China's first self-developed 4nm intelligent driving chip Xuanji A3 is already in mass production. By the end of July, 3.52 million vehicles equipped with assisted driving have run on the roads.

These investments consume money in the short term, but looking long-term they are all moats. It was not vague with upstream suppliers either. Payment terms for SMEs suppliers are pressed to 60 days cash payment. Accounts payable and note turnover days are 141 days, which is at a low level among mainstream automakers.

When the industry slows down as a whole, it is precisely the window for companies to separate themselves.

BYD's path in this semi-annual report is clear. On one side, rely on premiumization to raise the vehicle price. On the other side, rely on internationalization to open up profit space. At the same time, use R&D far exceeding current profit to build high future barriers, demonstrating a continuous and steady development foundation.

That profit curve rising again in the second quarter is the first signal that this strategy is starting to pay off. For the following few quarters, it is worth continuing to watch.