China’s BYD makes $1.3 billion in Q1 2025, surpassing Tesla yet again

BYD reported 9.15 billion yuan in net income for the first quarter of 2025, beating out Tesla for the second time in less than a year.

The number came in higher than analysts’ 8.1 billion yuan forecast. Tesla’s Q1 figure? A weak $409 million, posted earlier this week. BYD’s performance gave China’s best-selling car brand a lead not just in units, but profit too.

BYD brought in 170.36 billion yuan in revenue from January through March. That’s 36% higher than the same quarter in 2024.

But even with that growth, the company missed analyst expectations on sales. What didn’t miss, though, was its profit. This period—usually a slowdown for Chinese automakers because of the Lunar New Year holiday—didn’t hit BYD like it used to.

BYD avoids U.S. tariff risk and targets new markets

Car sales for the quarter almost hit 1 million units, setting up BYD for its full-year goal of 5.5 million, including 800,000 exports. The company’s not even worried about Donald Trump’s auto tariffs. Trump, now back in the White House, slapped tariffs on foreign carmakers again. But BYD doesn’t sell passenger cars in the U.S. It’s looking elsewhere.

South America and parts of Southeast Asia are high-growth targets for BYD, where demand for EVs is climbing. The company is also building a factory in Hungary, expected to start production late 2025. With Europe still buying, and America blocked, BYD is shifting focus without losing money.

At this week’s Shanghai auto show, BYD held its ground against European rivals like BMW and Volkswagen. They rolled out the luxury Yangwang U8L SUV, showed off the concept-level Denza Z sports car, and the Dynasty-D series. These aren’t cheap rides. The push into higher-priced models signals a plan to grow profit margins, not just car sales.

New stock split and fast-charging battery draw attention

This week, BYD also split its stock. For every 10 shares, investors are getting 8 bonus shares. In addition, they’ll issue 12 capitalization shares from reserves for every 10 issued shares. That move mimics what Nvidia and Tesla have done in recent years. Tim Hsiao, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote that the strategy could help BYD “cater to a broader group of investors.”

Just before publishing its Q1 earnings, BYD announced a new battery system. It can charge 400 kilometers in five minutes. That system is going into the Han L and Tang L SUVs. The Han L starts at 270,000 yuan. The Tang L begins at 280,000 yuan. Both models hit the market this month.

The Tang L was also on display at the Shanghai show. It’s a seven-seater, all-wheel drive, and has three different versions. The top model goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds—matching the Porsche 911.

BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares closed 1.7% higher on Friday. That pushed year-to-date gains near 50%. The company already posted a 24% jump in 2024, and 11% growth in 2023. The numbers speak for themselves.

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