BYD has announced that the company plans to ramp up its international expansion efforts in 2026 with a sales target of 1.3 million cars.
Reports from the company’s leadership team were shared by cnevpost ,where BYD’s GM of branding and PR shared that the company would see a growth of 24% in international sales this year, over its 2025 sales of 1.046 million in markets outside of China.
This was a growth of over 150% in sales in 2024, where the company exported 417,000 cars across the globe.
Australia made up over 50,000 of those sales in 2025, making it one of the major single markets for the brand in its international efforts.
In 2025, BYD also overtook Tesla for global EV sales and is expected to continue that trends in the years to come, with Tesla shifting its focus to autonomous vehicles and its FSD software rollout.
BYD has grown rapidly in our market with the original Atto 3 electric SUV being launched in 2022. At that time, it was the most affordable ground-up electric SUV and over $20,000 cheaper than the locally delivered Model Y SUV.
Post the Atto 3, the company launched one of Australia’s cheapest electric cars, the BYD Dolphin hatchback, followed by the Seal electric sedan’s launch to close 2023 off.
By the middle of 2024, BYD unveiled its first PHEV model to the Australian market in the form of the Sealion 6, followed by the Shark 6 PHEV ute in the second half of the year.
Both models racked up thousands of pre-orders and sales, helping the brand enter into early mainstream, particularly with the ute offering.
In 2025, BYD offered what was at that time Australia’s lowest-cost EV, starting at $29,990 with its BYD Dolphin hatchback and the Essentials variant.
It also launched the Sealion 7 SUV, which has already climbed the sales charts into the top 2 best-selling EVs in the country in 2025, overtaking the Tesla Model 3 sedan, which has been in the top two electric vehicle sales for years.
In November, BYD dropped another bombshell, launching Australia’s cheapest EV, the Atto 1, as well as the country’s most affordable SUV, the Atto 2. Both these models are entering mass deliveries, with December seeing over 500 Atto 2 sales.
December also saw the company produce its 15 millionth car, 31 years after the inception of this battery cell-making company.
With global markets the key target for years to come as the brand looks to overtake Toyota in the next decade, it’d need to further expand in existing and new international markets.
1.3 million could be the lowest annual international sales target it sets, with millions to be added in years to come if it’s to achieve that feat.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.