The battle for top global BEV producer has two main contenders Tesla and BYD. While Tesla has long held the lead, trends suggest that the coming year may see a shift, with BYD likely dethroning Tesla as the world’s largest BEV company. BYD set consecutive BEV sales records in August and September, whereas Tesla has faced stagnating sales over the past year. Rho Motion has dived into the figures.

Year to date sales figures

So far this year, Tesla has sold 1.29 million vehicles globally (Jan to September), while BYD has sold 1.27 million BEVs worldwide (Jan to September), putting the company on track for yet another record-breaking year. Tesla, however, may struggle to match its 2023 sales figure of 1.81 million vehicles.

Already, BYD is a larger automaker than Tesla in terms of overall production, due to its range of PHEVs and REEVs (Range-extended EV). In pure EV terms, BYD overtook Tesla in 2022, and this year alone has sold more than twice as many EVs (including BEVs, PHEVs, and REEVs) as Tesla.

BYD’s revenue surpassed Tesla’s for the first time in Q3 2024, with the company reporting USD28.24 billion for the quarter. Tesla, impacted by falling revenues from vehicle sales, reported USD25.18 billion over the same period.

BYD’s global expansion is just beginning, while Telsa’s is stagnating

The majority of BYD’s sales remain focused in …

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