BYD Narrows the Gap with Tesla in the Race to Become the Best-Selling Electric Vehicle Manufacturer

Forex - Chinese BYD increased its total sales to 4.25 million passenger cars last year, narrowing the gap with Tesla, which is competing to be the top-selling electric vehicle manufacturer in 2024.

BYD, which completely ceased the production of fossil fuel-powered vehicles in 2022, reached a new monthly sales record in December by offering subsidies and extra incentives to buyers. The company reported sales of 509,440 plug-in hybrid and all-electric passenger vehicles in December. Of this figure, 207,734 units were electric vehicles, bringing the annual electric vehicle sales to 1.76 million. Total annual sales rose by 41% compared to the previous year.

Tesla will release its fourth-quarter sales figures this week. The company, led by Elon Musk, needs to deliver at least 515,000 electric vehicles in the last three months of 2024 to meet its expectation of "slight growth" in annual sales or a quarterly record of 1.81 million deliveries. Analyst estimates are slightly below those expectations, pointing towards 510,400 deliveries.