Chinese BYD tops Tesla in fourth quarter, delivers record EV vehicles

Chinese automaker giant BYD has surpassed US rival Tesla by delivering approximately 600,000 battery-powered vehicles between October and December.

According to both companies' production and sales results for the year 2024, Tesla delivered 495,570 electric vehicles (EVs) during the fourth quarter, while BYD delivered 595,413 units.

However, for the whole year, BYD delivered 1.76 million EVs, slightly behind Tesla, which delivered 1.79 million.

While Tesla increased its EV sales by 5 percent in the fourth quarter, BYD's EV sales increased by 13.1 percent.

With other types of sales, such as plug-in hybrid cars and buses, BYD delivered 4.27 million units of vehicles in 2024.

Pressure

Meanwhile, Tesla reported a dip in full-year auto sales on Thursday, missing a company forecast in a sign of rising electric vehicle competition in China and other major markets.

Tesla's 2024 sales were about 1.1 percent lower than in 2023, even though the company stated in October that it expected "slight growth" in vehicle deliveries for the year.

Tesla's fourth-quarter sales rose from those in the prior-year period, but the increase was not enough to prevent a full-year decline from 2023.

Tesla has called the current period of moderating sales reflective of its position "between two major growth waves," with the next period of volume increases due to advances in autonomy and the introduction of new vehicle products.

While 2024 saw an increase in road presence of Tesla's futuristic Cybertruck, the company has faced pressure to roll out other new vehicles.

A heavily-touted October launch event in Los Angeles showing off Tesla's autonomous robotaxi vehicles received mostly lacklustre reviews.