Buffett Sells Again... Consecutive Divestments of Chinese Electric Vehicle BYD Shares

4.94% Stake... Share Reduction Since August 2022

“Investment genius” Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway has sold more shares of BYD, China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, Bloomberg reported on the 22nd (local time).

According to documents submitted by Berkshire to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the same day, Berkshire sold BYD shares on the 16th, reducing its stake from 5.06% to 4.94%.

Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
[Photo by AP News]

The Hong Kong stock market requires major shareholders to disclose their stakes, but if the stake falls below 5%, they no longer have to disclose sales.

Berkshire acquired 225 million shares of BYD in 2008 for $230 million (approximately 319.1 billion KRW), gaining a 10% stake. The BYD investment was led by then-Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, who has since passed away.

Since then, Berkshire began selling BYD shares in August 2022, after BYD’s stock price had risen more than 20 times. According to Bloomberg, Berkshire earned about 2000% returns from its initial BYD investment.

BYD, which started as a mobile phone battery manufacturer, grew rapidly after it began producing electric vehicles directly. Last year, it surpassed Tesla to become the world’s largest electric vehicle company.