China's BYD Stock Down On Reports Of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Sells Out Stake

(RTTNews) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has sold out its entire stake in Chinese automaker BYD Co. Ltd., as per a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In Hong Kong, BYD shares fell 2.3 percent after reports of Berkshire Hathaway offloading all its stake in the Chinese electric-vehicle maker.

Berkshire's energy unit- Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co., recorded the value of its BYD investment as zero as of March end in a May filing, while the investment as of December 31, 2024 was $415 million.

The U.S. investment major, which started its association with the Chinese electric vehicle giant 17 years ago, made its initial investment in 2008, with $230 million for about 225 million shares or around 10% stake at that time. BYD has so far returned billions to Berkshire Hathaway with its investment, reports said.

However, the company has been on a sell down since 2022, when it reportedly sold 1.33 million shares in BYD at an average price of HK$277 or $35.7 per share.

As per the May filing with the SEC, Berkshire energy unit's first-quarter results included $87 million gain, compared to a loss of $108 million last year, related to its investment in BYD.

Following the reports, Li Yunfei, BYD's general manager of branding and public relations, confirmed the news in a post on his official Weibo account, thanking Berkshire for its investment, help and companionship over the past 17 years.

BYD, run by Chairman and CEO Wang Chuanfu, last year had surpassed billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla in global sales for the first time, mainly with its fully electric models, excluding hybrids.

For the month of August, BYD's new energy vehicle production grew 21.04 percent from last year to 353,090 units and sales volume climbed 23% to 373,626 units.

In its first half of fiscal 2025, the Group's profit attributable to equity holders of the parent increased 13.79% and revenue climbed 23.30% as compared to the first half of 2024, mainly attributable to the growth of new energy vehicle business.