BYD Surpass Tesla in 2024

The number of electric vehicles (EVs) produced by Chinese new-energy vehicle (NEV) maker BYD surpassed that of US automaker Tesla in 2024, according to the two firms' latest financial reports, and in terms of EV sales, BYD's gap with Tesla narrowed to within 30,000 units last year. 

 

This reveals the growing competitiveness of Chinese NEVs and their popularity in global markets, which is based on technological advances and supply-chain advantages, analysts said. 

 

Last year, Tesla sold 1.79 million vehicles, according to a financial report they released on Thursday. This was down 1.1 percent from their deliveries in 2023, the first such decline since 2015.

 

Meanwhile, Chinese automaker BYD sold 1.77 million EVs last year, up 12.08 percent year-on-year. That means Tesla still retained the title of the world's top selling EV brand in 2024, but the gap with BYD was less than 30,000 vehicles, compared with over 220,000 in 2023. 

 

According to a CNN report, Tesla announced sales of 495,570 EVs in 4Q24, which was far behind BYD's global deliveries of around 600,000 EVs in the same quarter.

 

Previously, BYD beat Tesla in EV sales for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2023. And in the third quarter of 2023, BYD also overtook Tesla in revenue for the first time.

 

With regard to EV production, Tesla produced 1.770 million EVs in 2024, while that of BYD was slightly higher at 1.778 million units.

 

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday that the momentum has been achieved thanks to Chinese companies' significant advances in related technologies, their growing status in global markets and the rapid development of the NEV industry. It has also come despite intense global competition, Wang noted. 

 

Besides BYD, a number of other Chinese NEV makers such as Chongqing Changan Automobile Co and Zeekr also reported stellar sales in 2024, with some posting growth of over 50 percent year-on-year. 

 

In Malaysia, BYD is becoming more and more popular!

 

Note: BEV stands for Battery Electric Vehicle. Or more frequently called EV. An all-electric vehicle that is powered exclusively by a battery-operated electric motor, which is charged via the power grid, i.e. it does not require any fossil fuel. And which means, it is 100% emission-free.