Tesla Rival BYD’s Top-Selling Spot In China Toppled By Volkswagen In First Two Months Of 2026

According to a report from Reuters, citing data from the China Passenger ⁠Car Association, Volkswagen’s Chinese joint ventures held a combined 13.9% market share in sales terms, compared to BYD’s 7.1%.

• Geely held 13.8% market share while, Toyota’s joint ventures cumulatively held 7.8%, the report said. 
• The rise in market share for legacy automakers comes as purchase tax exemptions on electric cars expire and Beijing scales back subsidies for trading in EVs.
• BYD previously overtook Volkswagen as the largest carmaker in China by sales in 2024 and retained the title in 2025 as well.

German automaker Volkswagen (VWAGY) reportedly ruled the auto market in China in the first two months of 2026, trumping Chinese EV giant BYD Co (BYDDF) amid falling EV subsidies

According to a report from Reuters, citing data from the China Passenger ⁠Car Association, Volkswagen’s Chinese joint ventures held a combined 13.9% market share in sales terms, followed by China’s own Geely, in the January-February time frame.

Geely held 13.8% market share, while Toyota Motor’s (TM) joint ventures cumulatively held 7.8%, the report said.

What Helped Volkswagen?

The rise in market share for legacy automakers comes as purchase tax exemptions on electric cars expire, and Beijing scales back subsidies for trading in EVs, the report noted. Chinese EV makers relying on budget electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are taking the biggest hits from the policy change, it added.

Chinese EV giant BYD held just 7.1% market share in the two months, putting it in the fourth position, as per the report. BYD previously overtook Volkswagen as the largest carmaker in China by sales in 2024, retaining the title in 2025 as well.

However, Volkswagen has begun production of its first model with Chinese EV maker XPeng. The automaker is looking to launch more than 20 new EV models in China this year, as per Reuters.

Investor Take On BYD

Despite the sales slump, Michael Burry, the investor famous for predicting the U.S. housing crash and profiled in Michael Lewis’ book “The Big Short,” called BYD one of the world’s most technologically advanced automakers because of its vertically integrated model. BYD manufactures its own chips, batteries, motors and other components. A key advantage is BYD’s Blade battery, which uses lithium iron phosphate, Burry said earlier this week. He added that the design is cheaper and safer than the nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries widely used by rivals like Tesla.

Burry rated the stock 7 out of 10, calling it a “mild buy” and said he would be an “aggressive buyer at HK$75 or better, if the thesis still holds at that time.”

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BYDDF stock rose from ‘bearish’ to ‘neutral’ territory over the past 24 hours while message volume remained at ‘high’ levels. 

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