Ford Motor Company has been overtaken in global vehicle sales for the first time by Chinese electric car giant BYD, underscoring the dramatic shift under way in the global automotive industry.

Ford’s sales slipped 2 per cent last year to just under 4.4 million vehicles, while BYD sold 4.6 million, climbing to sixth place in the global rankings of car manufacturers.

The milestone is symbolic for an industry shaped by Ford’s legacy. Founder Henry Ford revolutionised mass car ownership with the Model T in the early 20th century. More than a century later, the company that defined industrial car production is being outpaced by a Chinese electric vehicle specialist.

BYD’s growth has been driven by its expanding portfolio of affordable, high-tech electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Among its best sellers are the SEAL U DM-i and the Dolphin electric city car, priced at under £19,000 in some markets.

In contrast, Ford has scaled back lower-cost small cars in Europe, phasing out the Ford Fiesta during the pandemic and pivoting towards higher-margin SUVs and crossovers. Its entry-level Puma now starts at more than £26,000.

Ford’s sales in the US rose, but the company has lost ground in Europe and China — markets where electric competition is intensifying.

Felipe Munoz, an independent automotive analyst, said the trend was widely anticipated. “BYD is still in expansion mode. Even if sales in China slow, it’s relying on exports to grow,” he said.

“Ford, meanwhile, remains heavily dependent on the US, where growth is modest, and has only a minor presence in China. Europe is also stagnant. This divergence is likely to continue.”

Western carmakers, including Ford, have struggled to navigate the electric vehicle transition. In December, Ford took a $19.5bn (£14bn) charge to scale back EV production, citing weaker-than-expected demand.

Munoz said Ford’s electrification strategy was complicated by its exposure to North America. “North American consumers are not enthusiastic about electric cars, and government support has been inconsistent,” he said.

Ford has attempted to regain a foothold in China through a joint venture with Jiangling Motors, launching an all-electric version of its Bronco SUV. However, its Chinese market share has fallen from nearly 5 per cent a decade ago to less than 2 per cent today.

“Let’s see how the Bronco Electric performs,” Munoz said. “But so far, nothing significant has changed.”

Despite global challenges, Ford remains Britain’s third-largest car brand. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, it sold about 119,000 vehicles in the UK in 2025, representing a 5.9 per cent market share, an 8 per cent increase on the previous year.

BYD, while still smaller in the UK, is growing rapidly. It sold around 51,400 cars last year, achieving a 2.5 per cent market share, but with sales rising almost sixfold.

At the top of the global league table, Toyota retained its crown for the sixth consecutive year with sales of 11.3 million vehicles.

For Ford and other Western manufacturers, BYD’s ascent signals more than just a ranking shift, it reflects a deeper rebalancing of power in an industry increasingly defined by electrification, cost efficiency and Chinese technological ambition.

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

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Chinese regulators have suggested that financial institutions reduce their holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds, citing concerns over concentrated risks. This move aims to lessen reliance on U.S. debt and enhance the stability of the financial system.

China has issued a warning to its financial institutions to tighten their holdings of US Treasuries amid escalating concerns over economic and geopolitical tensions. The move signals China’s intent to reduce its reliance on American debt instruments, which have been a significant element of its foreign exchange reserves. By warning banks to limit their holdings, Beijing aims to mitigate potential risks associated with US economic instability and political uncertainties.

This directive also reflects China’s broader strategy to diversify its foreign reserves and reduce exposure to US financial assets. As tensions over trade, technology, and geopolitics rise, China’s cautious stance is designed to protect its economic interests and maintain stability within its financial sector. The government’s measures could lead to a shift in global bond markets, impacting US Treasury yields and investor strategies worldwide.

Overall, China’s warning signals a shift towards more cautious financial management in response to international developments. While the country continues to hold significant amounts of US Treasuries, it appears increasingly intent on balancing its reserves to safeguard against potential economic disruptions. This move may have lasting implications for global financial dynamics and US-China relations.

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The craft brewer said it had experienced its best-ever Christmas trading period

South West pub operator and craft brewer Butcombe says it has delivered an “exceptional sales performance” in its first full year trading under its new brand name. The Wrington-based group – formerly known as Liberation – said its investment in its estate, particularly its accommodation, had helped it outperform the broader market over the 12 months to the end of January.

The business reported like-for-like growth of eight per cent across its managed pub division including drink at 10.1 per cent, food at 6.5 per cent and accommodation 5.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, UK Butcombe Pubs & Inns delivered 9.7 per cent like-for-like growth, and Channels Islands Liberation Pubs & Bars performed at 3.5 per cent like-for-like.

Butcombe said “strong demand” for its premium room offering – Butcombe Boutique Inns – had encouraged the business to add the Welldiggers Arms, in Petworth, to its portfolio, bringing the total number of boutique venues up to 12. It also announced plans to further expand the number of Boutique Inns over the coming financial year.

The group was also boosted by a record festive trading period for its managed pub estate, achieving like-for-like sales at 14.4 per cent over the Christmas and New Year fortnight, delivering the group’s record highest-week ever and highest-ever day on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, Butcombe’s UK tenanted business achieved sales growth of 25.2 per cent over the same period.

The rapid growth of no and low alcohol brands, including Butcombe’s award-winning non-alcoholic Goram IPA Zero, was also a driver in the growth of the drinks arm of the business, with the category up 63.9 per cent for the year.

Jonathan Lawson, chief executive of Butcombe Group, said: “I am delighted to report such strong results and once again I must start with a massive thank you to our amazing teams in the UK and Channel Islands who are at the heart of everything we do and are passionate about delivering the highest standards of service to our customers.

“To culminate with a record-breaking Christmas with sector leading LFL’s against tough comparatives last year is incredibly satisfying and demonstrates the strength of our business and the growing loyalty of our customers.”

He added: “As we look ahead, we remain confident that we are well positioned to sustain growth thanks to our brilliant pubs in ideal locations and unmatched guest experience.”

The chief constable of Norfolk Police has called for tougher and faster punishments for repeat shoplifters, warning that persistent offenders are not being deterred by the current system.

Paul Sanford said shoplifting was one of the few crimes in the county that continued to rise, and expressed frustration at delays in the courts.

Speaking on BBC Radio Norfolk, Sanford said: “There’s big delays in our court system and I will share my frustration that sometimes I don’t think these persistent offenders are getting the deterrent sentence they need.

“We do have a problem with repeat offenders coming back to stores time and time again and we do need some concerted effort to tackle them and stop their offending.”

According to the Office for National Statistics, 6,382 shoplifting offences were reported to Norfolk Police in the 12 months to June 2025, up from 5,211 in the previous year.

Sanford revealed that the force had recently dealt with a man who admitted 23 counts of shoplifting, a woman in Breckland arrested 43 times since 2022, and a Norwich offender arrested 25 times in the past 20 months.

“We’re catching them, we need the rest of the system to catch up,” he said.

Sanford said the government’s ongoing sentencing review was “critically important”, arguing that chronic backlogs in the courts were undermining efforts to curb repeat offending.

“When theft is accompanied by violence, threats or intimidation, we will come down hard,” he added. “But we need the court system to move faster.”

The force has been using CCTV as a primary source of evidence in shoplifting cases, alongside facial recognition technology to identify suspects. For the most prolific offenders, Norfolk Police has applied for criminal behaviour orders, enabling courts to ban individuals from specific town centres or retail areas.

Sanford also pointed to the resale of stolen goods, including bulk thefts from supermarkets, as a continuing driver of offending.

Retailers have reported sustained losses from shop theft in recent years, with staff often facing abuse and intimidation. Sanford said he had the “utmost sympathy” for shop workers dealing with repeat offenders.

Norfolk Police has advised retailers to strengthen security by maintaining visible customer service presence, mapping theft hotspots within stores, training staff to identify suspicious behaviour and ensuring shop floors are kept tidy to reduce opportunities for concealment.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said reforms were under way to speed up justice and strengthen community-based penalties. “We now have new laws giving tougher community restrictions, including the biggest ever expansion in tagging and the use of restriction zones,” they said.

The ministry added that investment and procedural reforms were being introduced to modernise the courts and tackle inefficiencies.

For police forces such as Norfolk, however, the message is clear: without swifter sentencing and stronger deterrents, repeat shoplifting is likely to remain a stubborn and rising challenge on the High Street.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

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Market participants noted that while top-line performance met expectations, operating profitability came in stronger than anticipated, helped by improving trends across key segments and the gradual impact of GST rate cuts.

Commenting on the results, Kaustubh Pawaskar, Lead Analyst, ICICI Direct said revenue performance was broadly as expected, while margins exceeded forecasts.

“On the revenue front, numbers are broadly in line with what we were anticipating for the quarter. Margins came in a little better than expectations. We were anticipating around 22.5% EBITDA margin, while margins came in at around 23%. So, at the margin level, the numbers are better than what we had anticipated. Also, we are seeing that there is a bit of recovery in growth sequentially in most of the segments like home care and beauty. So, I think the benefit of the GST rate cut is also coming in. It came with a lag, but now it has started coming in for most of the companies, and we are seeing that impact.”

ET Now also sought clarity on profitability after adjusting for one-time costs related to labour code implementation.

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Pawaskar noted that excluding exceptional employee-related expenses, margins remained comfortably ahead of expectations.
“Yes, so profitability, if you exclude the ₹113 crore of one-time expenses, which is part of the employee cost regarding the labour code, if you exclude that, the EBITDA margins came in at around 23%, which is better than what we were anticipating at around 22.5%.”The sequential improvement across categories such as home care and beauty, along with easing cost pressures and the delayed benefits of GST rate reductions, suggest that operating conditions may be gradually stabilising for FMCG players.

Analysts will continue to track volume recovery trends and margin sustainability in the coming quarters as consumption demand and input costs remain key variables for the sector.

MPC member hails resilience of Northern businesses

The Bank of England should soon take its “foot off the monetary brake” and cut interest rates as inflation continues to ease, a member of the bank’s rate-setting committee has predicted.

Sarah Breeden, deputy governor for financial stability at the Bank of England and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), was in Manchester to hear from businesses about what they would like to see from the Bank. She praised the resilience of Northern businesses – and told BusinessLive that without any further economic shocks, she expected a rate cut could come in the next couple of meetings.

At the most recent MPC monthly meeting last Tuesday, she was one of four members who voted to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 3.5%. But the rate stayed at 3.75% as five members voted to keep the rate the same.

The minutes of the MPC meeting showed members felt inflation would soon fall back to its 2% target as pay growth and price inflation were easing, but there was debate over how persistent those inflationary pressures still were, and whether a rate cut was needed now or later.

Like other MPC members, Ms Breeden, who is originally from Stockport, regularly tours the country to talk to businesses about how their sectors are performing. She said those discussions help members get a true picture of the wider UK economy, and help them to state their cases at the MPC table.

Asked why she had voted for a cut in rates, she said she felt it would help give more support to businesses sooner.

She said: “When we, all of us, are looking at interest rates and the path for monetary policy, what we’re looking at is ‘where is inflation going to be in the medium term’.

“We’ve had some really good news recently in that inflation is going to hit our 2% target nine months earlier, 12 months earlier, than we had expected it to. We will be at 2% or thereabouts in April and our expectation is that it should stay there from here.

“But of course there are risks around that outlook and so our debate around the MPC table was about the upside risk to inflation, if we continue to have high wages, if they are fuelling increases in prices.

“On the upside, are we having inflation persistence continuing, versus the risk to the downside? Are we going to see a pick-up in activity as we’re expecting? Might there be more of a loosening in the labour market and might that bring inflation below target?

“For me, I was more focused on those downside risks. I wasn’t confident that we’re going to see that pick-up in activity. And so I thought it was appropriate for us to take our foot off the monetary brake a little bit and provide a bit more support for the economy.”

This time round, Ms Breeden’s argument was outvoted on the MPC. But she says that while “there’s no preset path for policy”, a cut remains likely soon if the economy continues on its current path and risks to inflation subside.

She said: “If we continue to have the economy develop as we expected and if there are no shocks – to be clear those are two big ifs… I think it’s reasonable to expect there to be a cut over the next couple of meetings.”

Ms Breeden was confident though that, without shocks, inflation would continue on its downward trend.

She said: “We’ve had four years, haven’t we, when inflation has been above our target of 2%. That’s a really, really long time.

“The original source of those inflationary shocks were external to the UK economy. It was the almost doubling of energy prices, food prices increased by 20%. And perhaps naturally in that context, people were looking to address the cost of living pressures through higher wages.

“What we’re seeing now is that in contrast to the position then when there was a tight labour market, when it was more likely that businesses were to be able to have high wages and then to pass those higher wages on into their costs, we’re seeing less activity in the economy.

“We are seeing a looser labour market and all of that means that the persistence in wage and price inflation, those second round dynamics that have been with us for a long, should be falling away.”

North West businesses ‘resilient’ in face of shocks from Brexit to pandemic

Her overall feeling was that the mood among local businesses was “resilient”.

She said: “There’s been an awareness of some green shoots, some positive stories to tell, but also a recognition that the story isn’t the same across all industries. The story that manufacturing is facing is different to the one in finance and professional services.

“And that’s something that we find really valuable from coming out and talking to businesses, because the more we understand about why firms are experiencing the economy differently, the better able we are to understand it and make policy right.”

That resilience, she said, was particularly striking given the challenges the UK economy has faced.

She said: “If you think about the shocks that the economy has suffered over the last several years, it’s amazingly resilient that we are where we are. We’ve left the European Union, we’ve had a once-in-a-hundred-year pandemic, we’ve had war in Europe, we’ve had the fastest rise in energy prices in many decades, we’ve had the fastest rise in interest rates in decades, and we’ve had a new leader in the U. And all of that has created shocks that businesses have been able to absorb incredibly well – much better than I would have expected.”

Why MPC members must get out and meet businesses

Ms Breeden said she “cannot underscore enough” the importance to MPC members of getting out to meet businesses in person.

She said: “It’s always important to understand businesses and households’ lived experience of the economy. But after those extraordinary shocks that we’ve faced, it is even more important to get out and about and ask people what is happening with their costs, what’s happening with the labour market, what’s happening with demand, what does all of that mean for pricing – and that feeds in very really very really into our decisions. We can’t just look at our models, we’ve got to look out of the window.”