BYD Chairman Aims to Overtake Toyota in Sales Within Five Years

BYD’s chairman, Wang Chuanfu, has declared the company’s ambition to become the world’s largest automaker within five years, surpassing giants like Toyota and Volkswagen Group. This bold proclamation was made during the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Shenzhen.

A key factor in this aggressive expansion plan is BYD’s second-generation Blade Battery, which the chairman believes will be crucial for future growth. Last year, BYD sold 4.6 million cars, making it China’s largest automaker and the sixth-largest globally.

However, to achieve its goal of outselling Toyota, which sold 9.6 million cars last year (11.21 million including Lexus and Daihatsu), BYD would need to increase its annual sales by 1 million units for the next five years. This ambitious target faces challenges, including a slowdown in BYD’s domestic sales in China, which saw a 29.2 percent year-over-year decrease in May with 207,372 vehicles sold.

To compensate for this domestic cooling, BYD plans a significant push into international markets, with Canada identified as a key target. The chairman’s statement may also serve to boost the company’s share price, which has seen a decline of over 45 percent in the past year.