Chinese company BYD has overtaken Tesla to become the world’s best-selling electric vehicle maker.
BYD said it sold 526,400 electric vehicles during the fourth quarter of last year. During the same period, Tesla delivered 484,500 vehicles to its customers. This is the first time that BYD has surpassed Tesla in quarterly electric vehicle sales.
Last year, Tesla’s annual deliveries were 1.8 million, ahead of BYD’s (1.57 million). However, given the pace of BYD’s sales growth, the annual first place could quickly change in favor of the Chinese manufacturer.
Musk: “Have you seen their cars?”
Since its inception, Tesla has only produced electric vehicles. BYD, on the other hand, started with combustion engine vehicles and then shifted to plug-in hybrid vehicles more than a decade ago. It announced in March 2022 that it would completely stop producing thermal engine vehicles to focus on electric and hybrid vehicles.
In 2011, when Tesla CEO Elon Musk was asked if BYD was a competitor, he responded with a laugh: “Have you seen their cars?”
Today, however, BYD has become the world’s largest player in electric vehicles, thanks to the strength of the mainland China market.
Opposing strategies
BYD offers many electric vehicle models at a wider range of prices than Tesla, and is particularly popular in the low-end electric vehicle market.
What is also encouraging for the Chinese manufacturer is that BYD is growing not only in China, but also in foreign markets. As of December last year, about 90% of BYD’s sales came from China. But exports are growing rapidly. Overseas sales more than tripled in the second half of last year compared to the same period the previous year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Competition between Tesla and BYD is now forcing the two companies to take opposite paths. Tesla now plans to target the low-end market by developing a $25,000 Tesla model, while BYD is moving away from the low-end market and launching high-end electric vehicles.
Source: “ZDNet Korea”