On the evening of August 28, BYD (002594.SZ) released its 2026 first-half financial report, demonstrating resilient operational stability: revenue reached RMB 344.8 billion, net profit attributable to shareholders stood at RMB 12.3 billion, R&D investment totaled RMB 28.9 billion, and cash reserves amounted to RMB 167.4 billion. Notably, second-quarter net profit grew 30% year-on-year, with gross margin continuing its upward trajectory to 18.9%—a record high over the past year—reflecting steady improvement in profitability.
Amid intensifying competition in the automotive industry, BYD has leveraged its solid operational foundation and continuously optimized business structure to maintain a strong development trajectory in the first half of the year, further consolidating its position as the industry leader.
**Overseas Expansion and Premium Brands Drive Dual Growth**
During the first half of the year, BYD’s overseas sales reached 790,000 vehicles, up 68% year-on-year, with business operations spanning over 120 countries and regions worldwide. The company secured the top spot in new energy vehicle brand sales in key markets including the UK, Brazil, and Thailand. With the gradual release of localized overseas production capacity and continued improvement of channel networks, the overseas segment has become a significant engine driving the company’s performance growth.
Meanwhile, the premium product portfolio accelerated its momentum. The combined sales of the Fangchengbao, Denza, and Yangwang brands reached 228,000 vehicles, up 61% year-on-year, accounting for 12.6% of total sales. Fangchengbao alone delivered 160,000 units, marking a 163% surge, while Denza demonstrated impressive performance with monthly sales surpassing 20,000 units for the first time in June, achieving an average vehicle price of RMB 360,000. Yangwang, meanwhile, became the fastest domestic new energy brand to surpass 10,000 units in the luxury segment priced above one million yuan.
The parallel advancement of internationalization and premiumization has driven continuous optimization of the company’s product mix and steady enhancement of profitability. Second-quarter net profit grew 30% year-on-year, with gross margin reaching 18.9%, the highest in nearly a year. Although net profit faced short-term pressure, a closer examination reveals this was primarily attributable to exchange losses from currency fluctuations this year. The company’s core business profitability remained stable, with growing resilience.
**Massive R&D Investment Fortifies Moat, Technological Breakthroughs Materialize**
The steady improvement in operational quality is driven by sustained technological breakthroughs. In the first half of 2026, the company invested RMB 28.9 billion in R&D, far exceeding its net profit for the same period, retaining its title as the “R&D Champion” on A-shares, with cumulative R&D investment surpassing RMB 270 billion.
This high-intensity R&D investment is rapidly translating into tangible technological achievements. The second-generation Blade Battery and flash charging technology, released in March this year, set the world’s fastest production vehicle charging speed record, overcoming the global challenges of “slow charging” and “difficult low-temperature charging,” earning official recognition from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Beyond technological breakthroughs, capacity expansion for the second-generation Blade Battery and flash charging station construction are advancing in tandem. Under the “Flash Charging China” strategy, 10,000 flash charging stations have been established across 332 cities nationwide, with plans to deploy 6,000 additional stations overseas within one year, supporting the leapfrog development of global electrification.
Significant progress has also been made in the intelligent driving sector. Following its commitment to safety fallback for intelligent parking, BYD became the first company in May to pledge safety fallback for city navigation assistance, making it the world’s only enterprise with “dual safety fallback” coverage—a concrete step toward promoting the普及 of assisted driving. As of July 31, BYD’s assisted driving vehicle fleet exceeded 3.52 million units, with the “God’s Eye” system generating over 220 million kilometers of data daily. The concurrently released Xuanji A3, China’s first domestically developed 4nm autonomous driving chip, underscores BYD’s continued commitment to vertical integration and full-stack self-development, from underlying chips to system software, leading the global automotive industry’s intelligent transformation.
**Growth with Responsibility: Fulfilling Social Commitments**
BYD answers the call of social responsibility through action. In the first half of 2026, the company’s domestic tax payments totaled RMB 22.3 billion, significantly exceeding its net profit for the same period. On the sustainability front, the company remains steadfastly committed to its goal of achieving carbon neutrality across the entire value chain by 2045, with ESG performance firmly positioned in the first tier of domestic enterprises. From January to June, BYD’s new energy vehicles achieved a full-lifecycle carbon reduction of 23.17 million tons, equivalent to planting 386 million trees, contributing tangible strength to the low-carbon transition.
**Conclusion**
In the first half of 2026, the global automotive industry accelerated its restructuring, with profitability generally under pressure across the sector. BYD broke through against the trend, with second-quarter performance reaching new heights. As technological achievements continue to emerge in the second half of the year, premium vehicle share steadily increases, and global expansion enters its harvest period, the company’s profitability and growth potential are set to become further pronounced, with full-year performance expected to improve quarter by quarter. From technological breakthroughs to global布局, from premium market advancement to responsible corporate citizenship, BYD is reshaping its growth narrative through comprehensive competitiveness, leading the global industrial transformation.
