BYD targets overtaking Toyota as world’s biggest carmaker ‘in 5 years’

BYD says it wants to become the world's largest automaker within five years, though the Chinese giant will need to more than double its annual sales to overtake long-time industry leader Toyota.

Speaking at BYD's annual shareholder meeting in Shenzhen, chairman Wang Chuanfu said the company has set its sights on becoming the industry's number-one player by 2031.

"BYD will truly become the No. 1 automaker globally in terms of scale in five years," Reuters reports Mr Wang told shareholders.

The ambition underlines how quickly BYD has grown from a battery manufacturer into one of the world's largest vehicle producers. However, the gap to Toyota remains significant.

BYD delivered approximately 4.6 million vehicles globally during 2025, making it the world's sixth-largest automaker. That was enough to move ahead of Ford, but it still trails the industry's largest automotive groups.

Toyota Motor Corporation retained its position as the world's biggest automaker in 2025, delivering about 11.3 million vehicles globally across the Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu, and Hino brands.

Volkswagen Group remained in second place with just under 9.0 million deliveries.

For BYD to achieve its goal by 2031, it would likely need to add more than one million annual sales each year while maintaining strong growth in both China and overseas markets.

Mr Wang said expansion of BYD's second-generation Blade Battery production will play a key role in the company's future growth, alongside advances in battery technology, ultra-fast charging capability, and increasing export volumes.

The upcoming Denza Z9GT will be the first model sold in New Zealand to feature the latest-generation Blade Battery technology, due to arrive in Q3, 2026.

When paired with BYD's next-generation charging infrastructure, which is expected to reach New Zealand from late 2026, compatible vehicles are claimed to support charging speeds of up to 1500kW. In the case of the Denza Z9 GT, BYD says the new battery and chargers will work together to allow a charge from 10 to 70 per cent in around five minutes, and from 10 to 97 per cent in less than 10 minutes.

While this technology is set to reset the benchmark for recharge times, BYD's task of becoming the world biggest automaker could become more challenging as growth in its home market begins to moderate.

Reuters reports the automaker's domestic sales have come under pressure amid intensifying competition from rival Chinese brands. Domestic deliveries between January and May were down by more than 20 per cent year-on-year.

Exports, however, continue to be a major growth driver. BYD says exports rose 65 per cent during the same period, with Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Australia among its strongest overseas markets.

In New Zealand, BYD has become one of the market's fastest-growing automotive brands, but it still trails market leader Toyota by a considerable margin.

According to Motor Industry Association data, BYD recorded 3789 registrations in 2025, giving it a 3.5 per cent share of the new-vehicle market. Toyota remained comfortably ahead with 33,032 registrations, accounting for around 24 per cent of all new-vehicle sales.

The company is the world’s largest battery-electric vehicle maker, delivering 2.25 million EVs in 2025 - well ahead of Tesla’s 1.63 million.

Whether it can sustain that growth long enough to challenge Toyota's dominance remains one of the automotive industry's biggest questions.