Another show of strength: On Saturday, September 20, Chinese automaker BYD gave endurance racing driver Marc Basseng the keys to its U9 Xtreme model, from its luxury brand Yangwang. On the Papenburg test track in Lower Saxony, Germany, the German driver broke the speed record for a production car: 496.22 kilometers per hour, taking the top spot from Bugatti. This latest feat allowed Stella Li, the group's second-in-command and head of sales outside Asia, to shine: "BYD is a technology leader," she said. In an interview with Le Monde, conducted a few days before the Lyon Auto Show, which runs from September 24 to 28, she reiterated the car manufacturer's ambitions in Europe and beyond. Such expansion would be necessary to compensate for the intensely competitive Chinese market.

In the second quarter, BYD reported a 30% net profit drop compared to the same period in 2024. The group was forced to lower its 2025 sales targets from 5.5 million to 4.6 million vehicles. Its profit margin shrank by several points, though, at 16.3%, it was still more than twice that of European automakers. Li, executive vice president of the group, which was founded in 1995, said its sales only declined in China – and even there, "we are already number one. (...) The top maybe in history, in the highest marketing share." While BYD's market share has decreased, it is still close to 28% for electrified car models, according to the Chinese website CnEVPost.

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