On the first day of March 2026, China's automotive industry reached a historic milestone. BYD's February 2026 production and sales report revealed that overseas sales reached 100,151 units, surpassing domestic sales for the first time[1]. The significance of this data lies not in the numbers themselves, but in what they reveal—a fundamental turning point: China's automotive exports are evolving from 'selling abroad' to 'putting down roots,' entering a new era of 'eco-exports.'
1. The Inflection Point: Overseas Sales Surpass Domestic Sales, Defying the Off-Season
February is traditionally a slow season for car sales, but BYD's overseas performance bucked the trend. According to a research report from Kaiyuan Securities, BYD's overseas sales accounted for 52.9% of total sales in February, the first time overseas sales have surpassed domestic sales[2].
Data source: BYD Co., Ltd. February 2026 production and sales report
Looking back at 2025, BYD's overseas sales exceeded one million units, achieving significant year-on-year growth. For 2026, BYD has set even more ambitious overseas sales targets. This goal is not merely supported by export volume growth, but by a rapidly expanding production network covering key global markets.
2. Production First: From Zhengzhou to Subang, Replicating Technology Globally
This month, BYD's factory in Subang, West Java, Indonesia, has entered the final countdown to production. With an investment of over $1 billion, the factory has an annual capacity of 150,000 units and will mainly serve the Indonesian market while helping Indonesia become a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing in Southeast Asia[3].
Liu Xueliang, General Manager of BYD's Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division, noted: 'We are ready to bring the technology we have in Zhengzhou to Indonesia.' The Zhengzhou factory, BYD's global manufacturing heart, boasts an automation rate of 98% and significant annual capacity. Its advanced production technology will fully empower the Indonesian plant, achieving global replication of technology.
Similar production capacity layouts are advancing simultaneously at multiple key global nodes:
- In Europe, the Szeged factory in Hungary began trial production in the first quarter of 2026, with substantial planned annual capacity. It will serve as a key base for BYD to circumvent geopolitical trade barriers and cover the entire EU market. BYD is currently certifying 150 European suppliers to further strengthen the local supply chain[4].
- In South America, the Camaçari factory in Brazil, BYD's largest production base in Latin America, has an initial annual capacity of 150,000 units, with gradual expansion targeting 600,000 units[5]. The factory is accelerating its transition to a local supply chain, gradually increasing local procurement of parts and heavily promoting talent localization, with a high percentage of local employees.
- In Southeast Asia, the Rayong factory in Thailand has been completed and commenced production with an annual capacity of 150,000 units, including complete vehicle manufacturing and parts plants. A factory in Malaysia is also scheduled to start production in 2026, further enhancing the Southeast Asian production layout.
According to Kaiyuan Securities, BYD's planned overseas production capacity has exceeded one million vehicles. This means BYD's overseas sales will no longer be 'feeling the stones to cross the river,' but will achieve steady expansion from 'exports' to 'local production' supported by global production bases.
Figure: BYD overseas factory layout (as of March 2026)
3. Supply Chain Follows: Not Just Vehicles, But an Ecosystem
Traditional automakers going abroad often limit themselves to exporting complete vehicles, essentially a one-time transaction model. BYD's approach is fundamentally different: it exports not just cars, but an entire new energy vehicle supply chain, building a 'full-stack self-research + full-chain self-production' overseas ecosystem.
At the Zhengzhou super factory, BYD has achieved a full industry chain layout, producing not only vehicles but also self-developed motors, electronic controls, drive systems, and even supporting battery parks for its blade batteries. This mature, full-industry-chain model is being progressively replicated at overseas production bases, achieving 'local production, local support.'
Take the Hungarian factory as an example: BYD has established joint research collaborations with local universities to help upgrade the local new energy vehicle industry chain. In the future, not only assembly workers will work in Hungary, but core components such as battery packs and smart cockpits will gradually be produced locally, further reducing supply chain costs and improving response efficiency.
Even more competitive is BYD's 'reverse output' of core components, the most valuable aspect of its industrial chain going global. In January 2026, it was reported that Ford Motor was in talks with BYD to purchase hybrid batteries for its overseas factories outside the U.S. If the deal materializes, it would mean BYD's blade batteries officially enter Ford's global supply chain, marking a historic shift from 'using others' technology' to 'others using our technology.'
4. Logistics Autonomy: Not Just Building, But Shipping
For automotive exports, shipping capacity is the biggest physical bottleneck. 'Cargo container shortages' and 'long transport cycles' have been pain points for many automakers. To solve this, BYD has chosen to build its own logistics system—building its own ships to control shipping capacity.
On January 22, 2026, BYD's own roll-on/roll-off ship 'Hefei' docked at Jiangyin Port in Fuzhou, efficiently completing the loading of 3,120 vehicles before sailing to the Americas. This marks the first large-scale application of the 'arrive at port directly from rail-sea intermodal' model for commodity vehicles, significantly improving export transport efficiency. The 'Hefei' is 199.9 meters long, with a designed capacity of 7,000 vehicles, and uses LNG dual-fuel clean power[6].
Currently, BYD operates multiple roll-on/roll-off ships with an annual capacity of over one million vehicles, covering key overseas markets such as Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America. Logistics autonomy has not only greatly improved vehicle transport efficiency but also reduced costs, allowing BYD cars departing from ports like Chongqing, Shenzhen, and Fuzhou to appear faster in showrooms worldwide, enhancing competitiveness.
Figure: BYD's fourth professional car carrier 'BYD SHENZHEN'
5. Cultural Integration: Local People Sell Cars, Global People Drive
If production capacity, supply chain, and logistics are BYD's hard power for going global, then localization is the most easily overlooked yet crucial soft power. Only by achieving cultural integration can a company truly 'put down roots' in overseas markets.
Li Tie, General Manager of BYD's Brazilian subsidiary, recalled the difficulties when first entering the Brazilian market: 'Local consumers trust German, Japanese, and American car brands that have built decades of brand trust. Also, there are different aesthetic preferences, driving habits, and policy standards here.'[7] To tackle this, BYD's breakthrough strategy lies in human localization—letting local people manage local factories and serve local consumers, creating emotional and cultural resonance.
At the Camaçari factory in Brazil, a very high percentage of employees are local. These employees not only understand local market demands but can also accurately convey BYD's brand philosophy, gradually breaking local consumers' reliance on traditional brands. On the product side, BYD also deeply localizes. For example, the Song Plus, which has been replaced by newer models in China, still enjoys high market recognition in Brazil and will continue to be produced and sold there, with local production starting in 2026—a typical example of BYD's global products adapting to local markets.
Figure: BYD Brazil factory
In February 2026, BYD's overseas sales surpassed domestic sales for the first time. For any Chinese automaker, this is a milestone moment. But for BYD, it is more like a confirmation of the inflection point for its 'eco-exports' strategy, signaling a new stage in China's automotive going global.
By 2025, BYD's cumulative sales had exceeded 15.5 million vehicles, cementing its leadership in global new energy vehicles. Behind the 2026 overseas sales target are local employees tuning production equipment in Brazil, assembly lines accelerating in Indonesia, locally produced BYD cars running on Hungarian highways, and global mainstream automakers recognizing and seeking Chinese core component technology.
From 'product exports' to 'industrial chain exports,' from 'selling cars' to 'building ecosystems,' BYD's path abroad is reshaping the global automotive landscape. China's automotive industry is proving with actions: globalization is no longer simply selling products abroad, but packaging technology, standards, production capacity, and culture together, taking root and blossoming in foreign lands.
This is an expedition never before undertaken by Chinese manufacturing, and BYD's Chinese car fleet has already set sail toward broader global markets.
Scroll to view references
- BYD overseas sales surpass domestic sales for first time - Sina Finance
- Company information update report: February overseas sales top domestic sales, exports and new technology adoption expected to recover - Stock Star
- Subang BYD factory to start production in Q1 2026 - Shangbao Indonesia
- BYD Indonesia factory to be completed by year-end, investment $1 billion - The Paper
- BYD Song Plus to be locally produced in Brazil in 2026, targeting Latin American demand - China News Brazil
- Jiangyin Port welcomes BYD's own roll-on/roll-off ship for first time - Fuqing Government
- BYD's 'eco-exports' model advances - CRI Online