Tesla is no longer the world’s top seller of electric vehicles

Chinese manufacturer BYD has surpassed Tesla for the first time in electric vehicle sales in the third quarter of 2023.

At Tesla as elsewhere, the warning signs were evident, but the question was whether it would happen as early as 2023. The answer is clear and decisive, illustrating the dynamism of the Chinese automotive industry. BYD has been the world’s leading seller of electrified vehicles for three years now, and can now boast of being the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world.

Despite this, Tesla had every reason to be pleased with its fourth quarter of 2023 when it announced its sales figures last week. The 484,500 vehicles delivered set a new record for the company. BYD gave the American firm less than a week to celebrate these good numbers before delivering the blow by announcing 526,400 electric vehicles sold during the same period.

Throughout 2023, Tesla maintained its leadership with a total of 1.8 million electric vehicles sold, more than the 1.57 million units sold by BYD. However, over the same period, BYD recorded an annual growth rate of 73%, far surpassing Tesla’s sales growth, which was still a healthy 38%. There is now no doubt that BYD will surpass Tesla in 2024. The only question remaining is the extent of the impact… because at the same time, the Chinese automotive industry has become the world’s largest car exporter! This achievement was made after surpassing Japan in 2023 and Germany in 2022, two countries that have dominated the global automotive market for decades.

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