Chinese automaker BYD announced it aims to become the world's largest carmaker in scale within five years, targeting Toyota's current top position in global vehicle sales. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu said, "BYD will truly become the number one automaker globally in terms of scale in five years" [1].
In 2025, BYD sold 4.8 million vehicles worldwide, while Toyota remained the top seller with 11.3 million units. BYD also surpassed Tesla last year to become the world's biggest electric vehicle (EV) maker by sales [1].
To support its growth, BYD plans to invest nearly £1.8 billion in building charging infrastructure across Europe, aiming to install 3,000 of its high-power Flash Chargers by the end of 2027. These Flash Chargers can deliver 1,500 kW of power, significantly faster than Tesla’s 500 kW chargers in Europe. BYD’s Blade Battery technology enables their Denza Z9 GT model to reach 70% charge in just five minutes when using Flash Charging [1, 2].
BYD currently assembles the Denza Z9 GT sedan in Europe but has paused plans for a manufacturing plant in Turkey to focus on Hungary and other EU sites. The Hungary project has faced legal challenges involving allegations of EU labor and environmental violations, with sanctions imposed on some companies involved. BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li said, "Hungary is the number one priority right now. The second priority will be to focus on finding a second [production] facility in Europe" [1]. The company plans to start assembling cars at the Hungary plant in the fourth quarter of 2026 [1].
BYD’s battery production has not yet met demand, causing waiting times of four to five weeks for some models like the Denza Z9 GT. Chairman Wang said, "Once our [battery] production catches up next year, we are confident that both domestic and international markets will see strong growth" [3].
Domestic demand continues to outstrip production capacity, aided by BYD’s fast-charging technology. BYD Executive VP Stella Li predicted that China’s EV market penetration will soon approach 80% of new vehicle sales, saying, "With all the innovation technology introduced to the market, China's market very quickly will push to ... close to 80% in EV penetration" [4].
BYD was added to the Pentagon’s list of Chinese military-affiliated companies over June 8-9, 2026 [1, 4].
In May 2026, BYD expanded insurance coverage for users of its 'L2+' driver-assist system to encourage adoption and utilization [4]. Overseas vehicle sales reached 160,000 units in May 2026 [1].
BYD’s next major milestone is to begin car assembly at its Hungary factory by the end of 2026 while continuing installation of thousands of Flash Chargers across Europe through 2027 [1, 2].
