Warren Buffett exits BYD with billions

One of the world’s richest men just pulled the pin on his China EV investment and it has sent the market into a panic.

Warren Buffett has pulled his stake from Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Build Your Dreams (BYD), after a 17-year investment, marking one of the most lucrative exits in Berkshire Hathaway’s history.

The conglomerate reportedly earned approximately $10 billion from the stake, a return nearly 30 times its initial outlay.

A filing from Berkshire Hathaway Energy showed the value of its BYD investment had been reduced to zero at the end of March, compared with $415 million at the close of 2024.

Warren Buffett has long had a reputation for anticipating market and policy shifts.

His latest move concludes a gradual sell-off that began in 2022, well before escalating US-China trade tensions and challenges in the EV market.

Buffett’s journey with BYD began in 2008, when Berkshire Hathaway purchased a 10 per cent stake in the company for US$230 million.

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BYD Shares fell 3 per cent on Monday after news Buffett had sold the last of Berkshire’s stake. Picture: AFP

The investment, equivalent to about 225 million shares, was seen as a bold bet on the future of electric vehicles and renewable energy in China.

By June 2024, the conglomerate had reduced its stake to below 6 per cent, even as concerns about import tariffs and China’s EV export policies were rising.

News of Berkshire’s final divestment sent BYD shares down 3 per cent this week.

The company has faced mounting challenges in recent months, including a first-quarter profit decline in early 2025, the first in three and a half years, after Beijing intervened to cool aggressive price competition in the EV sector.

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Buffett had been an investor in BYD since 2008. Picture: Getty Images

Domestic deliveries, which account for nearly 80 per cent of BYD’s global sales, also fell for the fourth consecutive month in August.

On the social media platform, Weibo, BYD general manager of branding and public relations Li Yunfei thanks Berkshire for its “investment, help and companionship over the past 17 years.”

He described the divestment as a “normal” stock investment trade.

Berkshire Hathaway has not publicly commented.

Originally published as Warren Buffett exits BYD with billions