Chinese automaker BYD has reported outselling Elon Musk’s Tesla in electric vehicle (EV) sales during the last three months of 2023. BYD announced on Monday that it achieved a record-breaking 526,000 battery-only vehicle sales in the fourth quarter, marking the first time it surpassed Tesla in quarterly sales.
Tesla, on the other hand, disclosed on Tuesday that it delivered a commendable 484,500 electric vehicles in the same period, with a total of 1.8 million for the entire year of 2023. Despite Tesla maintaining its lead for the full year, the final quarter saw BYD’s impressive surge, raising questions about Tesla’s growth trajectory.
Analysts had initially anticipated a challenging quarter for Tesla due to a slowdown in demand attributed to rising borrowing costs. Nonetheless, Tesla’s performance surpassed expectations, posting a 20% increase in sales compared to the same quarter in 2022. Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities labeled the quarter as a “clear win” for Tesla.
Elon Musk’s ambitious goal of achieving two million deliveries in 2023 fell short, despite the company implementing multiple price cuts throughout the year to attract buyers. The competitive electric vehicle market and increased pressure from companies like BYD have posed challenges for Tesla to maintain its leading position.
BYD’s milestone serves as a reminder of the intensifying competition in the EV market. The Shenzhen-based company, known for its early contributions to the electric vehicle industry, sold over 3 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) in 2023, encompassing battery-only vehicles and hybrids. Of this total, almost 1.6 million were battery-only vehicles, showcasing BYD’s dominance in this segment.
BYD’s CEO, Wang Chuanfu, co-founded the company in 1995, originally gaining recognition for manufacturing rechargeable batteries. The company’s early investment in in-house battery production has proven advantageous, allowing it to cut prices sharply at the end of 2023 and boost sales by 70% in December alone.
“While BYD has accelerated into the fast lane, it’s fresh evidence of just how competitive the EV market has become and how hard it will be for Tesla to swerve back to head the pack,” remarked Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Despite this setback for Tesla, both companies are expected to continue reshaping the landscape of the global electric vehicle market in the coming years.
