BEIJING – September 03, 2026 -- Chinese electric and hybrid vehicles are pulling ahead of established rivals across Europe, Southeast Asia and South America, with buyers increasingly choosing brands like BYD over legacy automakers.

At the 47th Bangkok International Motor Show, crowds lined up at BYD's booth to view its lineup. In Europe, five Chinese automakers sold a combined 138,000 vehicles across 31 countries in May, up 64 percent year-on-year, marking the first time Chinese brands outsold Japanese carmakers in monthly European registrations. Brazil has become the top destination for Chinese new-energy vehicle (NEV) exports, and BYD's Brazilian plant rolled its 100,000th vehicle off the line in July.

China's vehicle exports have grown sixfold in twelve years

China exported 977,300 vehicles in 2013 and 7.098 million in 2025, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. In the first seven months of this year, exports reached 6.14 million units, up 66.8 percent year-on-year. In June alone, monthly exports topped 1 million units for the first time, rising 75.1 percent year-on-year, with NEVs accounting for 523,000 of those units -- a 160 percent jump that pushed electric vehicles past half of total export volume.

NEV exports rose 36-fold between 2020 and 2025

China's NEV exports climbed from 69,000 units in 2020 to 2.615 million in 2025. Chery, BYD and SAIC led the early expansion, while Geely, Chang'an and Great Wall Motor have since scaled up overseas operations. Newer entrants NIO, XPeng and Leapmotor are targeting premium markets with smart-tech features; XPeng launched its MONA L03 simultaneously in China and Munich, Germany, in July.

Chinese EVs often cost more abroad than at home

BYD's ATTO 3, sold domestically as the Yuan PLUS for around 120,000 yuan, retails for over 300,000 yuan in Europe. SAIC has built localized R&D, operations and after-sales teams overseas, while BYD's Brazil operations now span manufacturing, battery material processing and supply chains.

Tariffs are reshaping where Chinese automakers can sell

Turkey imposed a 40 percent tariff on Chinese EVs in 2023. The EU followed in 2024 with countervailing duties up to 35.3 percent, and the US applied a 100 percent tariff the same year. Mexico added tariffs up to 50 percent on passenger vehicles in 2026 for countries without free trade agreements. BYD's Luo Hao called the pushback "an inevitable stage" of global expansion.

BYD aims to become the world's largest automaker within five years

BYD overtook Tesla as the world's largest EV seller in 2025. Chairman Wang Chuanfu reaffirmed plans in June to make BYD "No. 1 globally" in scale within five years, with 6,000 overseas flash-charging stations planned by March 2027. Chang'an intends to open more than 1,000 sales and service outlets across Europe by 2030, following milestones including FAW-Volkswagen's 30 millionth vehicle and China's 2025 auto production and sales both surpassing 31 million units.