BYD and peers make strides in every market but their own

SOMETIMES the world’s biggest car market is not enough. Struggling with ferocious competition at home, China’s big electric-vehicle makers, led by BYD, have turned to growth abroad.

New horizons though, can’t hide the fact that the industry’s growth is shifting down a gear, and racy valuations are increasingly only seen in rear-view mirrors.

From the BYD Dolphin to the MG4, made by SAIC-owned MG Motor, Chinese cars have become commonplace in the driveways of Europe, Australia and swathes of Latin America. China’s EV exports doubled in 2025 to 2.6 million units. Of those, just under half were produced overseas in one of the 16 countries in which BYD and rivals have, or are planning, plants.