Elon Musk’s Tesla has reportedly been overtaken by its Chinese rival, BYD, as the world’s top-selling electric carmaker, producing 3.02 million new EVs in 2023.
Tesla announced on Tuesday that it made 1.84 million cars.
BYD surpasses Tesla in Q4 2023
However, BYD’s sales figures include 1.6 million battery-only cars, and 1.4 million hybrids, which means Tesla is still the leader in the production of electric battery-only cars.
However, in Q4, 2023, BYD outsold Tesla in battery-only cars – 526,000 to 484,000 – for the first time, The Guardian reported.
BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, which has been backed by the US investment billionaire Warren Buffett since 2008, has beaten Tesla’s production for a second consecutive year.
Most of BYD’s vehicles sell at a lower price point than Tesla, which derives about 20 percent of its sales from the Chinese market.
Chinese electric carmakers such as BYD and Nio have set their sights on becoming major players in international markets, with a particular focus on Europe.
In December, BYD, which sells five models in Europe and has plans to launch three more this year, announced plans to build a new factory in Hungary.
China’s top-selling electric carmaker is targeting sales of about 800,000 cars annually in Europe by 2030. However, these goals could be under threat after the European Commission launched an anti-subsidy investigation last September into Chinese electric vehicle imports.
One of the advantages BYD has over its US and European counterparts is its ability to manufacture electric vehicle batteries in-house.
The Hong Kong-listed BYD, which was founded by a former university professor, Wang Chuanfu, and began developing batteries in 1995, intends to become a global powerhouse in the electric vehicle market.
Elon Musk’s company said last month it was recalling just over 2 million vehicles in the US fitted with its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system to install new safeguards.
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