New figures reveal China's BYD has overtaken Tesla in the UK
Published on Jun 05, 2025 at 6:29 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Jun 05, 2025 at 6:33 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Fenton
BYD has officially overtaken Tesla in terms of popularity.
That is according to new figures released in the UK.
China has been developing an ever-growing presence in the EV market.
And it now appears to be overtaking the world’s biggest EV brand.
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Tesla has endured an extremely difficult start to 2025.
Unlike last year, America’s premier EV brand has been hit extremely hard.
A variety of factors have conspired to produce a massive hit to Tesla’s popularity.
Negative publicity surrounding Tesla CEO Elon Musk has not helped its cause.
The marque’s cars have become a target of critique and resentment online.
But various other issues continue to plague the brand.
For one thing, Tesla prices are still seen as quite expensive and inaccessible.
Feeding that price frenzy is the fact that Tesla has still not delivered a budget, wallet-friendly option.
And this price gulf has allowed Chinese competitors to swoop in and steal a march.
BYD, in particular, has enjoyed an enormous period of growth to start 2025.
Unlike Tesla, BYD has developed a heavy focus towards affordable cars for the masses.
And the positive upturn in reputation has helped the brand to boom.
Europe has become the latest battleground for the EV war between Tesla and BYD.
The Chinese brand has started turning the tide and has even begun outselling its American rival.
And the UK is the latest market that Tesla has lost to BYD.
New figures released in the UK display the remarkable shifts in fortune.
As the Standard reports, Tesla registrations in the UK fell by a whopping 36% to 2,016 units last month.
This compares to 3,152 units at the same time last year for the American EV marque.
It all adds up to a steep market share decline, from 2.13% to 1.34%.
BYD, on the other hand, is a very, very different story.
Tesla’s loss has very much been BYD’s gain – and the numbers back it up.
Compared to just 596 units sold last year, the number has already increased to 3,025 in 2025.
This represents a sales jump of over 400% from last year to now.
It also sees an enormous jump in market share, from 0.4% last year to 2.02% now.
Tesla will be watching these European and UK developments with real concern.
Because BYD are here – and it appears they’re here to stay.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
