At the start of 2026, something unusual happened in China's car market. BYD, the company that had spent years at the top of the domestic sales charts, was knocked off its perch by a rival.
Geely outsold it for two months in a row, and the headlines reflected a genuine shift in momentum. Then the war in Iran broke out, oil prices surged, and everything changed.
BYD, which had lost its title as mainland China's largest carmaker in the first quarter of 2026, rebounded strongly in the following two months as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran drove up oil prices. Its overseas deliveries surged 76 per cent year on year to nearly 300,000 units during the period.
By May, BYD had delivered 1.41 million vehicles globally between January and that month, 19 per cent more than Geely's 1.18 million units over the same stretch.
The conflict, which broke out on February 28, disrupted the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow waterway through which roughly 20 per cent of the world's oil supply passes.
When ships stopped moving freely through the strait, oil prices climbed sharply. And when petrol becomes expensive, the calculation for buying an electric car changes almost overnight.
The price difference between used electric vehicles and used petrol vehicles shrank from an average gap of nearly $5,000 to just over $1,300 between February 2025 and February 2026 - meaning that for millions of buyers sitting on the fence, the financial case for going electric suddenly became a lot harder to ignore.
Countries that had been slow to adopt EVs, including the United States, saw renewed interest as the oil shock brought a new urgency to the question of fuel costs.
The historical comparison is striking. Analysts have drawn comparisons with the 1970s oil shock, when a sudden spike in global energy prices accelerated the adoption of fuel-efficient Japanese cars in Western markets - ultimately reshaping the global car industry for decades.
The argument is that the Iran war may be doing something similar for Chinese EVs today - it's providing an external shock that accelerates a shift in consumer behaviour that was already underway, and handing Chinese manufacturers an opportunity to cement their position in markets they had only recently entered.
Chinese exports of electric vehicles and hybrids hit a record high in March 2026, rising 140 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
Electric vehicles now account for half of all new car sales within China, which means Chinese manufacturers face no domestic demand disruption from rising fuel prices - leaving them free to focus their resources entirely on export growth while rivals in oil-dependent markets absorb rising costs. It is a structural advantage that no policy decision was created and no competitor can easily replicate.
None of this means BYD's path is entirely clear. The company recorded its first annual profit drop in four years in 2025, with net profit more than halving year on year in the first quarter of 2026, as a brutal domestic price war and subsidy cuts took their toll.
The Chinese EV market at home remains intensely competitive, with dozens of brands fighting for the same buyers and margins under pressure across the board.
And in Europe, tariff pressures are pushing BYD to manufacture locally rather than export, which is a more expensive and complicated proposition than simply shipping cars from its vast factories in southern China.
The recovery has reinforced founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu's ambition to build BYD into the world's largest carmaker by 2030, backed by advances in next-generation batteries and autonomous driving technology.
A target which seemed far-fetched, but now almost within reach thanks to the crisis in the Middle East.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August 30 and 2 Se...
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told ...
Hua Hong Semiconductor, China's second-largest contract chipmaker, is investing $2 billion to build a new fabrication plant in Wuxi, China as p...
The U.S. has launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sites as Tehran retaliated against U.S. positions across the region, while Iranian officials said at least five people were killed and dozens wounded at a wedding near Sirik.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas says the bloc will tighten enforcement of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. EU foreign ministers were meeting in Ireland following renewed Russian strikes on cities across Ukraine.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August 30 and 2 September.
From mounting concerns over record global debt levels to growing tensions over China's trade surplus and Russia's return to the negotiating table, this year's G20 finance meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, highlighted the challenges confronting the global economy.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called on American companies to expand their presence in China and pledged that Beijing would address their "reasonable concerns," as China looks to stabilise trade ties with Washington ahead of President Xi Jinping's planned visit to the U.S. later this month
Volkswagen is heading towards a decisive showdown with labour representatives as Germany's largest carmaker weighs sweeping restructuring measures that could lead to factory closures and tens of thousands of job losses.
Online fast-fashion retailer Shein is seeking to raise up to $1.77 billion in a Hong Kong IPO after its valuation fell around 70 per cent from its private-market peak four years ago.
Kazakhstan has received a fresh vote of confidence in its economy after S&P Global Ratings upgraded the country’s credit rating, citing stronger public finances, solid reserves and steady economic growth.
AnewZ Business Europe, a new weekday programme, takes viewers inside companies driving growth and innovation across the continent, with Brickken CEO Edwin Mata joining the programme for its first episode with host Chief Global Editor Guy Shone. The show airs every Friday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment