Take down Toyota: BYD reveals its 2030 world leadership goal!
BYD has set itself one of the automotive industry’s most audacious goals: overtaking Toyota to become the world’s biggest carmaker by the end of the decade.
And while that might sound ambitious, the Chinese giant’s extraordinary rise in Australia suggests the challenge to the Japanese giant is already underway.
According to an Automotive News report, BYD chairman and founder Wang Chuanfu has told investors he expects the company to become the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer within five years — a target that would see it surpass Toyota and complete one of the most dramatic transformations in automotive history.
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The comments come as BYD continues its relentless global expansion, building on annual sales of around 4.6 million vehicles and rapidly increasing its presence across Europe, South America, Southeast Asia and Australia.
In fact, Australia has become one of the clearest examples of BYD’s momentum.
The brand has evolved from EV newcomer to one of the country’s fastest-growing automotive companies in just a few years, with sales more than doubling in 2026.
At times this year BYD has ranked as Australia’s second-best-selling automotive brand behind only long-term market leader Toyota, underlining just how quickly the market is changing.
That success is being driven by more than just electric vehicles. Models such as the Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal helped establish the brand locally, while newer plug-in hybrids including the Sealion 6 and Shark 6 have dramatically broadened its appeal among mainstream Australian buyers.
For BYD, however, Australia’s sales growth is only part of a much larger story. The company is no longer simply competing in the EV market — it is pursuing a strategy aimed at challenging the world’s biggest automakers and ultimately claiming the industry’s top spot.
Automotive News reported Wang presented the goal to shareholders during BYD’s June 9 annual meeting at its headquarters in the southern city of Shenzhen, according to videos posted by attendees on China’s YouTube-like platforms Bilibili and Douyin.
“I believe BYD will achieve significant [sales] growth by 2030,” Wang said. “That is, in five years, it will become truly the world’s No. 1 in terms of scale.”
Currently, BYD is the world’s number five auto group, behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group and Stellantis.
Toyota will not be easy to take down. It delivered a record 11.3 million vehicles globally in 2025.
Wang did not offer a volume target for 2030, but his vision implies a doubling of sales in four years.
BYD’s global deliveries of full-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids rose 0.3 percent to 383,000 vehicles in May after contracting for nine months in a row, according to numbers the company released June 1.
Because of weaker domestic demand, BYD’s worldwide sales for the first five months slipped 20 percent to 1.4 million.
The sales recovery came on sustained strong overseas demand. BYD’s May deliveries outside China surged 80 percent to more than 160,000. By contrast, its domestic sales fell 24 percent to below 223,000 in the month.
While shipping vehicles from China to markets all over the world, BYD also produces vehicles in Thailand, Uzbekistan and Brazil, with its Hungarian factory slated to begin output this year.
According to video clips BYD’s shareholders posted, Wang said BYD was booking “very good sales” in a broad range of markets including Southeast Asia, South America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.
“Our overseas sales target set at the beginning of the year was 1.5 million units,” Wang said. “But we now expect to exceed that target.”
