Battery bottleneck drags BYD's H1 2026 results while exports soar

BYD's interim report for the first half of 2026, released on August 28, shows operating revenue of roughly 344.8 billion yuan (about $50.6 billion), down 7.13% from a year earlier, while net profit attributable to shareholders slipped 20.54% to around 12.32 billion yuan ($1.8 billion). The company attributed the profit decline mainly to currency swings and the resulting foreign-exchange losses, insisting its core business remains profitable. Second-quarter net profit actually rose 30% year on year, and gross margin hit an 18.9% twelve-month high.

By division, the automotive and related-products segment brought in about 275.34 billion yuan, an 8.98% drop that nonetheless marks a recovery from the first half of 2025, while electronics and other products edged up 0.96% to roughly 69.4 billion yuan.

New-energy vehicle sales between January and June totaled about 1.81 million units, a 15.72% decline. Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu blamed the shortfall on tight supply of the second-generation Blade Battery, which is still ramping up production, remarking that this year's sales "depend on battery production." A staffer from the flash-charging business said capacity has improved after six months of line upgrades but remains strained.

Exports were the standout: 792,000 vehicles shipped in the half, up 67.8% according to CAAM data, now close to 44% of total sales. Wang expressed confidence the company could beat its annual overseas target of 1.5 million units. The Denza, Fang Cheng Bao and YangWang brands combined for about 228,000 units, up 61%, or 12.6% of total sales.

The report also underscores mounting domestic pressure. BYD sold roughly 1.016 million units at home in the half, only modestly ahead of Geely Auto's roughly 950,000 (including combustion models), and the publication suggests Geely could overtake BYD in the Chinese market this year.