A BYD executive has said the world’s largest EV manufacturer doesn’t need the US, and his company can thrive based on Chinese and European sales alone. The manufacturer is a major force in both markets, but remains essentially blocked from the US alongside other Chinese automakers because of high tariffs and import fees levied on the Asian nation’s vehicles.
According to The BBC, BYD executive Vice President Stella Li made the comments at the Beijing Auto Show before adding: “We survive and are successful without the US market today,” and “Actually, we are now suffering [insufficient] capacity. Our demand is much higher than what we can supply.”
BYD is arguably the Chinese automotive industry’s greatest success story. The company has dethroned Tesla as the world’s biggest EV manufacturer more than once, and holds that very title today. It’s also seen massive domestic success, contributing to the struggles of major global manufacturers like Volkswagen in the Chinese market.
Beyond that, BYD has aggressively pushed into Europe, causing major problems for legacy brands there. It’s the poster child for the “cheap Chinese EV,” offering SUVs and sedans with decent spec sheets for less than $20,000 in some cases.
Legacy manufacturers, especially those who build vehicles in Europe, the US, or Japan, essentially don’t have the ability to produce something that cheaply. There’s a strong argument that BYD doesn’t either, with Chinese government grants being used to give the company an edge and establish it in markets like Europe.
Despite years of discussion, the doors to the US market have remained firmly closed for BYD. But is this latest line massively downplaying what US market access would mean for the world’s biggest EV manufacturer?
Does BYD actually need the US market?
Do manufacturers like BYD need access to the US market to survive? Obviously not. Chinese vehicles have been de facto banned in the United States for years, and any attempt to lift that ban tends to be met by staunch resistance from established American automakers.
If access to the US market was actually essential, not a single Chinese automaker would survive. At best, you’d have a few parts manufacturers or companies that build vehicles with the likes of Ford, limping along.
But the fact that Chinese automakers can get along without access doesn’t mean the US auto market isn’t incredibly important. It’s the second-largest vehicle market in the world, just behind China. And while things aren’t exactly perfect in the US automotive world at the moment, the Chinese market is an absolute warzone with the likes of BYD suffering from massively increased domestic competition.
The US also tends to be more affluent, with the average price paid for a new vehicle a lot higher. For a company like BYD, this could mean improved margins while still undercutting US manufacturers and offering what seems to be a bargain.
The figures also suggest US market access would be pretty important to a company like BYD. Despite company officials putting a brave face on it, BYD’s domestic sales have plummeted in 2026. BYD reported a 36% year-on-year drop in Chinese auto sales back in March, marking seven straight months of sales declines on home turf. At the same time, the US market is crying out for the kind of affordable, practical vehicles the company produces en masse.
So while China and Europe are both incredibly important markets, writing off the US is pretty silly. If Chinese manufacturers were offered the same tariffs and taxes as European manufacturers, Japanese, or South Korean OEMs, then it would be a huge boon for the industry.
Look how big a deal access to the Canadian market was. It’s a fraction of the size of the US in terms of sales volume, barely scraping into the top 10 most years. But its customers have a similar level of affluence and roughly similar tastes to their American neighbors, making high-margin products like premium SUVs a viable option.
