Electric Car Sales: China's BYD Overtakes Tesla 

Chinese company BYD overtook billionaire Elon Musk”s Tesla to become the world’s biggest electric car company in the final quarter of 2023. The Chinese manufacturer sold a record 526,409 battery-only vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023. As per the stock exchange filing, the US-based Tesla delivered 484,507 vehicles in the three-month period to December 31. Meanwhile, Tesla maintained an 11 percent increase from the previous quarter.

At the same time, the US-based EV maker surpassed BYD in the overall sales of 2023 by selling 1.8 million electric cars. BYD sold 1.57 million electric vehicles in 2023, and the company witnessed a 73 percent increase when compared to the previous year. As per the overall sales figure, Tesla’s gap over BYD is about 230,000 units. It is to be noted that there was a gap of 400,000 units between both EV makers in 2022. Reuters, citing the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data, reported that Tesla sold 94,139 China-made EVs in December, and this marks a 68.7 percent increase from 2022.

The significant growth of Tesla”s Chinese counterpart indicates China”s rising EV industry. BYD, backed by US billionaire Warren Buffett, started as a battery manufacturer in 1995, and BYD Auto was created in 2003 to develop plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles. Notably, Warren Buffet invested $232 million in the Chinese automaker in 2008. BYD also manufactures electric buses, trucks, the SkyRail system, and solar panels. The main highlight of BYD vehicles is their affordable price tags. This also helped the company become a significant competitor to Tesla. Elon Musk”s Tesla is making constant efforts, including price cuts, to defend its dominance of the market for electric vehicles.