BYD’s share price tumbles on Warren Buffett’s fears of dumping the electric vehicle maker’s stake

Shares of Chinese electric car giant BYD fell on Tuesday on concerns that Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway could potentially sell its position.

About 225 million shares appeared in the Hong Kong exchange’s clearing system, matching the size of Buffett’s BYD holdings, which represent a 20.5% stake.

Hong Kong-listed BYD shares fell 12% and U.S.-listed shares that trade over-the-counter fell 11%.

BYD told the Financial Times that neither the company nor the Hong Kong stock exchange has yet received a report of a major stake changing hands, which is required by Chinese regulations. Berkshire did not immediately provide comment to Insider.

Buffett’s conglomerate made an initial investment in BYD of $232 million in 2008. The stake, which is among Berkshire’s largest stock positions, was recently valued at $7.7 billion.

Any stock selloff would follow a record high for BYD shares in June, as interest and appetite for electric vehicles surged on the heels of soaring gasoline prices. Meanwhile, BYD overtook rival automaker Tesla’s sales in the first half of 2022 and is aggressively looking to expand.

But a major shift in stakeholders could complicate such an expansion at a time when the company seeks supply chain independence to avoid the grumbling that plagues global consumers.