BYD’s profits fall 33%, but global reputation stays strong: Report

Despite its sharpest quarterly decline in more than four years, Chinese EV giant BYD continues to enjoy a buoyant global reputation, according to a new Carma media intelligence report.

The analysis spans 6,500 news articles across 500 outlets in 56 markets between January 2024 and August 2025. It used AI to assess tone, themes and message consistency and found that 65% of global media coverage on the brand still positions BYD as an industry leader, even as media volume fell in 2025.

BYD’s Q3 profits dropped 33% to about US$1.1 billion (7.8 billion yuan), with shares sliding by more than a third since May amid global tariffs and a cooling domestic market. Yet sentiment remains resilient: 75% of all coverage around the brand was positive, while stories about CEO Wang Chuanfu, often stress his underdog-to-icon trajectory, drawing 89% favourable tone.

“BYD has generated predominantly positive coverage, and much of that stems from the personal story of its CEO,” said Andrew Nicholls, managing director at Carma. “This aligns with a wider trend of leadership visibility driving brand favourability in competitive markets.”

The report attributes BYD's brand resilience to heavy investment in innovation, with media and search interest focusing on breakthrough technology, such as five-minute fast charging and high-profile vehicle models including the Seal and Dolphin. While traditional media emphasised the BYD's affordability and reliability, its own channels on platforms like TikTok and Instagram homed in on design and aspirational branding.

BYD’s aggressive international expansion dominated headlines in 2024 and 2025, accounting for 27% of all media coverage. R&D, innovation, and technology emerged as the next most prominent themes, making up 20% of mentions and reflecting sustained global attention on BYD’s technical advancements.

Global media sentiment in 2024 positioned BYD as outpacing Tesla, with 65% of coverage framing BYD as a market leader, while headlines highlighted Tesla’s stagnating sales and brand setbacks. This led to the Chinese manufacturer's ability to distance itself from Tesla’s growing market pressures and negative press. The "Tesla revenge arc" is also commonly referenced in media headlines, as the company was publicly dismissed by Elon Musk in 2011, only for it to rise in global prominence.

The company has faced major challenges in managing its reputation in 2025, as the report noted a spike in external criticism. October 2025 also marked BYD's first YoY sales decline at 5.5% in 19 months, leading to third-party media endorsements to fall, with brand coverage drawing scrutiny.

News of a massive recall for nearly 100,000 Dolphin and Atto 3 models due to steering defects led to questions over BYD's quality controls. Meanwhile, coverage from Brazil accused the company of human trafficking and poor working conditions at a factory, intensifying criticism around its overseas labour practices. Industry leaders also warned that BYD's price-war tactics could trigger an "Evergrande-style overreach," drawing negative commentary on the company's aggressive growth strategy.

The report observed that BYD's main challenge is brand endurance, where the company consistently maintains trust, stability, and purpose in spite of external scrutiny. BYD's strategy to mitigate these external risks include doubling down on consistent innovation messaging, emotional storytelling, and values-based PR.

For example, BYD continues to push its brand narrative of being a clean energy innovator and build upon its challenger status against rivals like Tesla, Toyota, and BMW in industry comparisons. Furthermore, its human-centred response to crisis, such as publicly rewarding a driver who intervened in a highway accident in China, has strengthened trust among consumers.

Key takeaways for brands:

• Transparency and local relevance: Brands are rewarded when they communicate with authenticity, transparency, and cultural sensitivity. 

• Technology and innovation as reputation currency: Explaining new technologies in accessible terms is a key skill for marketers.

• Trade and policy volatility: PR teams must anticipate and address political and regulatory flashpoints with narratives about fairness, sustainability, and long-term public value.

• Next-gen buyers and digital ecosystems: PR needs to prioritise data-driven social listening, community storytelling, and clear brand purpose to connect with these younger audiences.

• Reputation in a geopolitical world: Marketers need strategic foresight and coordinated messaging to protect brand reputation under heightened scrutiny.