Chinese company overtakes Tesla as top EV maker
- Tesla sold a whopping 450k+ cars in the last quarter of 2023 alone
- Elon Musk’s EV maker sold nearly 2 million vehicles last year
- This still wasn’t enough to beat the best-selling EV brand
Published on Jan 04, 2024 at 5:20 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Jan 04, 2024 at 7:21 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Tesla is by far the best-selling EV maker from the Western Hemisphere.
Unfortunately for Elon Musk, however, there’s an automaker from China that manages to do even better than that.
READ MORE: The BYD Han EV is here to challenge Tesla’s dominance
Tesla delivered 484,507 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023.
No other EV manufacturer from Europe or the US gets even remotely close to that.
And not only that, Tesla even managed to outdo itself, by selling 11 percent more vehicles than it had in the previous quarter.
And yet, there’s a Chinese company called BYD that still outsold Tesla.
BYD stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’.
This probably doesn’t feel great for Musk and Tesla shareholders.
Kind of like a team scoring three goals in a soccer game but the other team scored four and you lose the game.
In 2023, BYD sold around 3 million vehicles, while Tesla ‘only’ sold 1.8 million.
These numbers are incredible, considering the EV market is still not fully developed worldwide.
China is at the forefront of EV adoption, so much so that there are streets that literally sound different since there’s no more exhaust noise.
Electric cars are also hugely popular in the US, too, especially in certain states.
However, things are less rosy everywhere else, including Europe.
While EVs sell like hot cakes in Scandinavian countries, Germany and France, there are several countries, especially in the south, that are still way behind the curve.
And there’s a lot of resistance, too.
Partly due to ideological reasons but also because of practical issues.
Apples to apples, a gas-powered car is usually cheaper than a comparable electric equivalent in Europe.
Also, public infrastructure is nowhere near good enough in some areas.
That’s why avant-garde solutions, such as the charging road the city of Detroit has just built, are needed.
And there’s another reason why Tesla should be worried.
Both Tesla and BYD provide components and patents to third parties but, until recently, only Tesla was a truly global brand when it came to selling cars.
But this is changing rapidly.
BYD, an automaker that in the past was mostly focusing on its domestic market in China, is now expanding rapidly.
In 2024, you can buy a BYD in just about any country where you can buy a Tesla.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
