Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD recorded its first monthly year-on-year sales increase in nine months in May 2026, supported by continued growth in international markets.

The Shenzhen-based company reported sales of 383,453 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in May, a marginal increase of 0.3% from 382,476 units sold in the same month a year earlier, according to a company announcement.

Vehicle production reached 380,549 units during the month, up from 349,824 units in May 2025.

Exports continued to play an increasingly important role in the company's performance, with BYD shipping 160,644 NEVs to overseas markets during the month.

Passenger vehicle deliveries totalled 376,990 units, little changed from 376,930 units recorded a year earlier.

Within that segment, battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales declined 2.8% year on year to 198,674 units, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales rose 3.3% to 178,316 units.

Commercial vehicle sales increased to 6,463 units from 5,546 units a year earlier.

Bus deliveries fell to 345 units from 429 units, while sales categorised as "others" rose to 6,118 units from 5,117 units.

During the first five months of 2026, BYD sold 1.41 million vehicles, compared with 1.76 million units in the corresponding period of 2025, representing a decline of 20.3%.

Last week, the company introduced the Dolphin Cargo e-Van in the UK for commercial vehicle use.

The conversion into a light commercial vehicle (LCV) is carried out in the UK, supporting local engineering expertise while ensuring the vehicle is tailored to meet the specific requirements of British commercial operators.

In the same week, BYD also unveiled the Xuanji A3, which it described as China’s first 4nm intelligent driving chip, as part of its wider efforts in autonomous and assisted driving technologies.

The 4nm manufacturing process refers to the spacing of transistors, the fundamental components of processors, at four nanometres apart.