In this articleBYDDF1211-HKFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT08 September 2025, Bavaria, Munich: Stella Li, Vice President of the car manufacturer BYD, speaks during a presentation by the manufacturer BYD at the press day of the International Motor Show IAA (IAA Mobility, International Motor Show) at the company’s stand in a hall of Messe München (Bavaria, Germany) on September 8, 2025.Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesAt a time when electric vehicle sales growth in China has been slowing, BYD expects the country’s EV market to expand — quite in contrast to smaller rival Nio that recently said the industry’s “golden era” was over.”With all the innovation technology introduced to the market, China’s market very quickly will push to … close to 80% in EV penetration,” BYD’s Executive Vice President Stella Li told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal on Monday.Thanks to state support and a flood of car options, the penetration rate of hybrid and battery-only vehicles has grown rapidly in just a few years, exceeding half of new passenger cars sold in 2024 and a record 62.9% last month, according to the Chinese Passenger Car Association. The U.S. electric car penetration rate remains at just around 10%, while that figure is roughly 25% globally, the International Energy Agency said last month.U.S. tariffs of 100% on China-made electric cars have restricted local sales. BYD along with some other firms was put on the Pentagon’s list of Chinese military-affiliated companies on Monday. The EV maker did not respond to a request for comment.But BYD is optimistic about the domestic market, banking on improved battery technology.Domestic demand for BYD’s EVs now stands at around double what the company can currently deliver, Li said, thanks to its fast-charging technology that is reportedly capable of achieving a 70% charge in just five minutes.Sales of gas-powered cars in China plunged by 39% in May from a year ago, the CPCA said Monday, citing the impact of higher oil prices amid ongoing hostilities in the Middle East.Looking ahead, Li expects the next phase of competition to likely center on driver-assist features.BYD on May 28 expanded insurance coverage for “L2+” driver-assist users, which Li said could boost customer utilization by 5 percentage points to at least 95%. The company also revealed its own driver-assist chip. For now, Li said BYD would largely use Nvidia’s driver-assist chipsets, even as the automaker employs roughly 7,000 engineers for semiconductor development. That’s just a fraction of the over 869,600 workers the automaker employs, as per its 2025 annual report.Read more electric car storiesHow Chinese carmaker Geely put roots in the U.S.China’s EV price war turns into AI arms race beyond cheaper carsForeign car companies bet on technology to hang onto once-lucrative China auto marketAlibaba’s Qwen AI is coming to cars, allowing drivers to order food and book hotels by voiceEV demand is getting a boost from the Iran war — just as auto giants pivot back to combustion enginesBYD and KFC China collaborate to offer 9-minute refueling stationsVolkswagen announces voice AI in its Chinese cars from later this yearToyota to invest $1 billion to increase U.S. production in Kentucky, Indiana plantsNissan’s new hybrid is a U.S.-first that mixes EV driving with a gas engineStellantis-backed Leapmotor delivers more than 100,000 EVs for fourth-straight quarter as BYD sales fallEV battery startup pivots to defense industry amid Iran war, weak electric vehicle marketChinese robotaxi companies forge ahead with UAE expansion despite Iran warVolkswagen pushes into driver-assist EVs without Nvidia, exec saysLeon Cheng, head of the mobility practice at YCP, an Asia-focused consultancy, pointed out that despite a recovery in May, BYD’s total sales were essentially flat year over year.”The question is not only whether BYD can maintain its leadership in China,” he said, “but whether it can defend its position globally as more Chinese EV players compete aggressively in export markets.”In May, BYD sold nearly three times more cars in China than the second-largest automaker b …
