Earlier this decade, Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD (BYDDY 2.45%) (BYDD.F 2.67%) was facing a problem. It wanted to become a major exporter of its wares, but at the time, the shipping industry was in disarray largely because of the pandemic. It suddenly became difficult for manufacturers of many types of goods to ship their products, and the auto industry was not immune to this.
So in 2022, BYD decided to create its own fleet of huge roll-on, roll-off cargo ships to transport its vehicles overseas. Since then, the company's profile has grown in many markets globally, to the point where it could become the top EV maker. Sometimes it really pays to bring an important business operation in-house.
Half and half
According to a report published in May by Reuters, BYD set an ambitious target to sell half of its vehicles outside the Chinese market by 2030. Citing four unnamed "people familiar with the matter," the news agency said BYD aimed to achieve this mainly by cranking up exports to Europe and Latin America. The always daunting North American market, it seems, isn't in sight just now.
Image source: Getty Images.
Getting its vehicles to those regions, of course, requires ocean shipping, so that do-it-yourself strategy plays nicely into BYD's vaulting overseas ambition.
To the company's credit, it wasted little time building the BYD ship fleet. The first of its huge car carriers set sail in January, and since then, at least another six have hit the waves.
These are clearly making a difference in BYD's efforts to be a global carmaker. For the first half of this year, it managed to more than double its overseas sales; this came in at a total of 464,266 units. For the period, this number accounted for 22% of the company's global tally of more than 2.1 million.
One great advantage of overseas sales is that BYD's models can sell for much higher prices (although factors such as export costs, tariffs, and the like are baked into this). So they have a greater impact on the company's revenue figure; again, looking at the first half of this year, foreign sales brought in 135 billion yuan ($19 billion), contributing 36% to the company's total top line of 371 billion yuan ($52 billion).
BYD's products clearly resonate in markets outside mainland China. According to data compiled by CarNewsChina.com, in those six months of 2025, the company was the unit sales champion in relatively affluent Hong Kong, with its total of 4,909 units easily topping Tesla's 3,889, and trouncing the 770 of Chinese peer Xpeng. In populous Thailand, it sold 24,072 vehicles, almost four times that of the No. 2 manufacturer.
One thing I should note here: The BYD unit figures are for what the company calls "new energy vehicles" (NEVs), which include not only battery electric vehicles (BEVs) but also plug-in hybrid EVs. Competitors like Tesla, for example, produce and sell only BEVs. Still, even with that, the company's results are impressive and clearly show its proprietary shipping strategy is working.
Heading to sunnier shores
There's a very good foundational reason for BYD's very ambitious goal to become a global player in the auto industry.
China, although huge and always loaded with potential, is stuffed with domestic EV makers just as eager as BYD to rule the market. That cutthroat competition has resulted in price wars, which -- all things being equal -- have a deleterious effect on key fundamentals like bottom-line profitability. Is it any wonder that foreign markets look so much more enticing?
BYD still has quite a way to go if it truly wants to hit that goal of 50% of its sales abroad. That target deadline of 2030, after all, is only a few years distant.
But only a few years previously, it wouldn't have been a likely candidate for domination in any market outside of China; now it's a leader in several. I think it's wise not to underestimate this company. We could very well be looking at the world's next automobile giant.
