BYD shares fall as Wang Chuanfu targets Toyota in 5 years

BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu is targeting the company to become the world's largest automaker within five years, even as performance and the stock price face pressure. At the annual shareholder meeting in Shenzhen, Wang identified production of the second-generation Blade Battery as the main hurdle to growth this year. BYD closed 2025 as the world's sixth-largest automaker with sales of 4.6 million vehicles, still far behind Toyota Motor. Over the past year, BYD shares in Hong Kong have fallen more than 45 percent, while the Shenzhen-listed stock has dropped 33 percent. In Wednesday morning trading, BYD shares fell another 4.3 percent in Hong Kong and 1.6 percent in Shenzhen. Although exports jumped 65 percent in January-May, overall deliveries in the same period fell more than 20 percent amid fierce competition in the China market.