Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) has fully divested its stake in the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) leader BYD (SHE: 002594) after more than 15 years of continued investments, according to the latest reports. 

Berkshire first invested in the automaker in 2008 under Charlie Munger’s guidance, acquiring about 225 million shares worth approximately $230 million and amounting to some 10% stake at the time.

The divestment was not as sudden as it may appear, as Buffett started selling his position in 2022, by which point BYD’s stock price had surged more than twentyfold.

At the beginning of 2025, Berkshire’s energy arm still held $415 million worth of BYD shares, but the exit was completed in March, as per the filings.  

BYD stock down following Buffett’s exit

In the wake of Buffett’s bail, BYD stock slipped around 3.4% in overseas trading.

While the company is still up about 20% year-to-date (YTD), investor sentiment is certain to change without Berkshire Hathaway backing it up.

That is especially true since BYD has been navigating headwinds as the government pushes to mitigate price wars, a policy that has left an impact on profits. 

For instance, the EV leader saw its first quarterly profit drop in three and a half years this year, while domestic sales fell for a fourth straight month in August. In total, BYD has cut its 2025 sales target by up to 16%, to 4.6 million vehicles.

In the meantime, BYD’s chief competitor, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), saw its own shares jump over 2% on Sunday, September 21, and sits at $429 in pre-market on Monday following CEO Elon Musk’s meeting with President Trump. 

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