China’s BYD overtakes Tesla as world’s largest maker of pure-electric vehicles on fourth-quarter EV sales surge
- The carmaker’s global fourth-quarter deliveries rose 22 per cent from the previous quarter, surpassing Tesla’s total by about 41,000 EVs
- BYD’s sales benefited from rising demand for EVs in China and the discounts it offered to domestic car buyers, an analyst says
“BYD’s sales benefited from a rising demand for EVs in China and the discounts it offered to domestic car buyers,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “The new title as the world’s largest pure-electric car builder will hone its image as a global leading player in transforming the automotive industry.”
BYD, known for cars that are priced around 100,000 yuan (US$14,013), dethroned Tesla as the world’s largest EV maker in 2022. The company, controlled by billionaire Wang Chuanfu, delivered a total 1.86 million EVs that year, most of them in mainland China, beating Tesla’s 1.31 million units. But Tesla makes only pure electric cars, so it shipped 43 per cent more of those than BYD’s 917,118.
Tesla’s four models fall into the category of premium EVs, which start at 259,900 yuan in the mainland market.
