BYD targets overtaking Toyota as world’s biggest automaker "in five 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 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.

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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 Australia to feature the latest-generation Blade Battery technology. It's due to arrive in the third quarter (July to September) of 2026.

When paired with BYD's next-generation charging infrastructure, which is expected to reach Australia 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 Australia, BYD has soared up the sales charts. It finished in eighth position last year, while this year it has finished as high as second some months and year-to-date is currently sitting in third position behind only Toyota and Kia.

Its sales are up by 120.1 per cent year-to-date, fuelled by not only sales increases for existing models like the Atto 3 and Seal but also due to the arrival of new models like the Atto 2 and Sealion 5. BYD Australia has previously said it plans to finish "close to" the top three this year.

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