In a breakthrough for the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, the company reported selling a remarkable 526,000 battery-only vehicles in the final quarter of 2023, surpassing Tesla’s figures for the first time in this quarter. While BYD claimed victory for the period, Tesla maintained its lead for the entire year of 2023, delivering a record-breaking 1.8 million electric vehicles. Despite a strong end-of-year performance, Tesla fell short of its earlier ambitious target of achieving two million deliveries in 2023.
The competitive landscape in the electric vehicle market intensifies as BYD’s milestone underscores the challenges faced by the industry pioneer, Tesla. Analysts attribute BYD’s success to its strategic focus on in-house battery production, providing cost advantages and enabling significant price reductions, resulting in a 70% sales surge in December 2023.