BYD Overtook Ford — and Now It Has Toyota in Its Sights

The numbers tell a story of extraordinary industrial momentum. In 2025, BYD sold over 4.6 million new energy vehicles — combining fully electric models and plug-in hybrids — enough to push Ford off the list and claim sixth place in global vehicle rankings. For context, Ford was for decades one of the pillars of the automotive world, a brand that helped define the modern car industry. Being surpassed by a Chinese company that only abandoned combustion engines three years ago is a watershed moment for the entire sector.

But BYD's CEO Wang Chuanfu is not stopping there. At a recent briefing, he made his ambitions explicit: "BYD will truly become the No. 1 automaker globally in terms of scale in five years." That five-year window points to 2031 as the target year — and it means BYD is setting its sights squarely on Toyota, currently the dominant force in global car sales.

The gap with Toyota — and why it is shrinking

Toyota is a formidable target. In 2025, the Japanese giant sold 11.3 million vehicles — roughly double BYD's current output. Closing that gap would require BYD to more than double its production while Toyota stagnates or declines. That sounds improbable. But look at the trajectory, and the picture becomes more nuanced.

BYD went from a regional Chinese carmaker to a global contender in under a decade. It ceased all pure internal combustion engine vehicle production in 2022 — a decision that at the time seemed risky and unorthodox. It has since proven to be strategically brilliant. While legacy automakers navigated the messy business of managing two drivetrains simultaneously, BYD focused all its engineering and financial firepower on electrification.

The results are visible across the supply chain. BYD manufactures its own batteries, electric motors, drivetrains, power electronics, infotainment systems, and software — a level of vertical integration unmatched in the industry. This is not just a cost advantage; it is a speed advantage. BYD can develop and update vehicles faster, more cheaply, and more coherently than most competitors.

Technology that is setting new standards

The latest generation of BYD technology is raising the bar for the whole industry. In March 2026, the company launched the Blade Battery 2.0 and Flash Charging system, delivering charging speeds that Europe's network can currently only dream of matching. Flash Chargers reach up to 1,500 kW, capable of charging compatible vehicles from 10% to 70% in just five minutes, or 10% to 97% in nine minutes.

Alongside that, BYD has developed China's first in-house 4nm smart driving chip, providing the computational backbone for L3 and emerging L4 autonomous driving capabilities. BYD is no longer simply a battery company making affordable cars. It is a vertically integrated technology powerhouse with automotive scale.

International expansion accelerating — including Europe

Perhaps the most significant signal for European readers is what is happening beyond China. In May 2026, BYD's overseas sales exceeded 160,000 units for the first time in a single month — a milestone that underscores how rapidly international expansion is moving beyond its early stages.

BYD has become the best-selling EV brand in Australia, Brazil, and the United Kingdom, overtaking both Tesla and Kia in those markets. In Europe, the company is backing its vehicles with serious charging infrastructure: it plans to install 300 Flash Chargers in the UK and 3,000 across Europe by the end of 2026. That is a direct signal that BYD is not positioning itself as a budget-import brand — it is playing a long game for market leadership.

For European consumers, this means more choice, more competition, and — almost certainly — continued downward pressure on EV prices. BYD's presence has already influenced how other manufacturers price their vehicles in Australia and the UK. The same effect is coming to Germany, France, Italy, and the rest of Europe, tariffs notwithstanding.

Can BYD really catch Toyota?

The honest answer is: it depends on factors beyond BYD's direct control. Toyota's hybrid strategy has allowed it to maintain extraordinary volume in markets — particularly the United States and Southeast Asia — where full electrification has been slower. If those markets accelerate their EV transition in line with Europe's trajectory, Toyota's volume advantage erodes. If they do not, Toyota holds its ground.

There are also political and trade variables. European and US tariffs on Chinese EVs are a real headwind. BYD has responded by building local production capacity — its Hungarian factory is under construction, and it is exploring further European manufacturing partnerships. This mirrors exactly what Japanese automakers did in the 1980s when faced with trade barriers: they localised, adapted, and ultimately prevailed.

Whether Wang Chuanfu's 2031 deadline proves accurate is almost beside the point. BYD outselling Ford in 2025 would have seemed like science fiction in 2020. The direction of travel is clear — and for the automotive world, that is the number that matters most.

Source: https://electrek.co/2026/06/10/byd-outsold-ford-thinks-it-can-catch-toyota-for-no-1/