Warren Buffett and BYD: the end of a 17-year investment

The story of Warren Buffett and BYD has come to an end. Berkshire Hathaway, the company led by the well-known American investor, has sold its remaining stake in the Chinese electric-car giant, closing a 17-year investment that delivered an extraordinary 3890% gain.

The investment dates back to 2008 and was championed by Charlie Munger, Buffett’s right-hand man and among the first to recognise the almost “miraculous” talent of BYD founder Wang Chuanfu. At the time, Berkshire acquired 225 million shares at HK$8 (€0.87 at the current exchange rate) each, representing a total outlay of €195.75 million.

Easing towards the exit

Berkshire began withdrawing in 2022, trimming its holding from 20.04% to 19.92%. Although a modest move, it set the stage for a series of subsequent disposals. BYD told local newspapers at the time that “there was no need to overinterpret it”. By 2024, however, the stake had dropped below 5%, meaning it no longer needed to be publicly disclosed.

BYD took the development in its stride. “Buying and selling shares is normal,” the brand’s general manager, Li Yunfei, said in a post on the Weibo social network, while thanking Buffett and Munger for their support over almost two decades.

The end of a BYD era amid turbulence

The farewell comes at a sensitive point for BYD. Following years of seemingly unstoppable expansion, the marque has entered a period of stagnation. It sold 341,030 passenger vehicles in July (+0.1% compared with 2024), followed by 371,501 in August (+0.2%). According to China EV DataTracker, this marks its slowest growth since January 2021.

This is happening even as worldwide sales of passenger New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) - electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids - rose by 12.4% in July and 7.2% in August. In other words, the market is still expanding, but BYD is losing momentum.

According to some sources, the Chinese manufacturer has internally lowered its 2025 annual passenger-vehicle sales target from 5.5 million to 4.6 million vehicles. Between January and August, the brand sold 2.83 million units worldwide, indicating that sales are unlikely to reach the original goal.