The exhibition booth of BYD at the Indonesia International Motor Show on February 15, 2025 Photo: Courtesy of Cao Shiyun

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD's general manager Li Yunfei said on Monday that buying and selling is normal in stock trading, in response to Berkshire Hathaway's exit from its stake in the company, and expressed appreciation of Warren Buffett's and Charlie Munger's recognition of BYD. 

In a post on Sina Weibo, Li noted that in August 2022, Berkshire Hathaway began gradually reducing its holdings of BYD shares that were purchased in 2008, and as of June last year, its stake had already fallen below 5 percent. 

"In stock investment, buying and selling are normal," he said, while thanking Berkshire Hathaway's investment, support, and companionship over the past 17 years.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has completely exited its equity investment in BYD, as confirmed by a spokesperson of the US company, CNBC reported on Sunday local time.

Berkshire Hathaway made its initial purchase of a stake in BYD in 2008, and BYD shares increased by roughly 3,890 percent during the years Berkshire Hathaway owned them, said the report. 

On August 30, 2022, a document on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's website showed that Berkshire Hathaway sold 1.33 million BYD H-shares on August 24, 2022, at an average price of HK$277.1016 ($35.66), cashing out HK$369 million. Buffett gradually reduced his BYD holdings multiple times thereafter, according to media reports.

In July 2024, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange disclosed for the 16th time Berkshire Hathaway's reduction of its BYD holdings, and Berkshire's stake in BYD had fallen to 4.94 percent at that point, media reports showed.

At the 2009 annual meeting, Munger, the then vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, told shareholders that even though it looked like "Warren and I have gone crazy," he saw BYD and its CEO, Wang Chuanfu, as a "miracle," according to the CNBC report. 

BYD has grown rapidly over the years. In January 2024, Xinhua reported that the Chinese EV maker outpaced Tesla in its quarterly sales of pure electric vehicles for the first time, and became the world's leading seller of pure electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023. 

According to its financial report, BYD achieved revenue of 371.3 billion yuan ($52.19 billion) in the first half of 2025, up 23 percent year-on-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders stood at 15.5 billion yuan, up 14 percent. 

Global Times