Tesla took the risk and dedicated itself to building only electric cars when the big manufacturers were just beginning to flirt with this technology. That gave it the advantage of offering something different, new, aspirational and thus it managed to become the best-selling battery-powered vehicle brand in the world. Until now.
Chinese car manufacturer BYD surpassed its American rival Tesla by delivering more electric vehicles worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2023, a first position that it will maintain, according to analysts, thanks to the strong support of the Chinese authorities.
The American manufacturer, led by billionaire Elon Musk, manufactured 484,507 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a company statement issued this week, which represents an increase of more than 11% compared to the previous quarter.
However, that growth was not enough to maintain Tesla’s crown as the world’s leading producer and seller of electric cars, as BYD reported sales of 526,409 units in the same period.
A true Asian giant
BYD (“Build Your Dreams” or “Build your dreams” in Spanish) is the most important electric vehicle brand in China. In fact, the group has already announced that it will stop producing cars with combustion engines to concentrate on hybrid and electric models.
The Chinese giant delivered 526,409 electric vehicles between October and December 2023, according to calculations made by the AFP agency based on data published in BYD press releases.
However, when analyzing last year’s total sales, the American group retained its first place with 1.81 million vehicles delivered worldwide (+38% year-on-year), while BYD delivered 1.57 million vehicles to their owners (+73%).
And while Tesla is expected to increase delivery of new vehicles to 2.1 million in 2024, the Chinese manufacturer’s exponential growth marks a trend that seems irreversible.
Yangwang U9, BYD’s electric supercar, unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show. Photo: Bloomberg“BYD has a structural advantage in that its expansion is supported by very strong support for electric vehicles from the Chinese government,” explained Neil Saunders, director of Globaldata.
“This is helping to boost domestic demand, which in turn strengthens BYD’s position in the export market,” he added.
Of course, he said, although Tesla “continues to lead the electric vehicle market, next year it will have to face much greater competition from China.”
BYD Destroyer 07, a plug-in hybrid. Photo: BloombergBYD, which closed last year selling more than three million plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric vehicles (more than 52% of the company’s sales). It is the undisputed leader in its national market in what they call “new energy vehicles”, where it sells an average of 52,000 units every week.
But, in parallel, it is applying a strong global expansion in different corners of the planet. He has already made his decision official set up a car factory in Hungary to supply the European market and avoid future tariffs that will be applied in the Old Continent to models manufactured in China.
BYD has also arrived in our region, as it assembles electric buses in Brazil and It has already acquired a factory in Camaçariin the north of the country, for which it announced an investment of 620 million dollars to begin producing electric and hybrid cars in the neighboring country.