BEIJING — An unflashy Chinese electric car maker is rapidly closing the gap with longtime market leader Tesla.
BYD, based in the southern Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen, has surpassed Texas-based Tesla Inc. as the top electric vehicle seller for the past three months of 2023, according to sales figures released by both companies this week. I stole it from.
Tesla maintained its title throughout 2023, but BYD’s sales soared on the back of the Chinese government-led EV boom. The rise of BYD and other Chinese electric car makers poses challenges not only for Tesla but also for the world’s major automakers. That’s because Chinese competitors are expanding into Europe, Southeast Asia and other overseas markets, offering relatively affordable options for environmentally conscious drivers.
James Atwood, deputy editor-in-chief of Autocar magazine, said automakers such as Volkswagen, Ford, Honda and Toyota are all trying to catch up with both BYD and Tesla.
“Perhaps the most interesting thing is not so much about the battle between Tesla and BYD, but more about what the big, established manufacturers with a 100-year history in car manufacturing are going to do to capture these upstarts. I think so,” he said.
How did BYD outperform TESLA?
Aggressive price cuts helped Tesla’s sales in the October-December period exceed analysts’ expectations, but BYD’s sales were even stronger. The Chinese automaker sold 526,409 electric vehicles in three months, surpassing Tesla’s 484,507.
Cui Dongxiu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Vehicle Association, said a surge in sales of small, low-cost EVs such as the Seagull and Dolphin boosted the company’s performance. He said it remains to be seen whether growth in small cars can be sustained.
BYD’s EV sales rose 73% to nearly 1.6 million units in 2023, the company said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday. That total still falls short of Tesla, which announced the next day that its annual sales had increased 38% to 1.8 million vehicles.
Unlike Tesla, BYD also makes hybrid cars. BYD sold 3 million passenger cars in 2023, including 1.4 million hybrids, significantly outpacing its U.S. competitors.
Subsidies for EVs in China were phased out earlier this year, but sales remain strong due to fierce price competition between manufacturers such as BYD and Tesla. China is Tesla’s main market and production base, and it exports cars to Europe and other countries.
What’s next for BYD?
BYD’s growth has been primarily domestic, benefiting from the huge Chinese market and government policies encouraging the EV industry. Although it rivals Tesla in scale, it is still out of reach.
“Most of BYD’s EVs were sold in China, even though overseas sales are rapidly growing,” said Jing Yan, director of China corporate research at Fitch Ratings. He’s a great player.”
The company is expanding into new markets. The company’s exports will more than quadruple to 242,765 vehicles in 2023, accounting for 8% of sales, and last month BYD announced it would build Europe’s first electric vehicle factory in Hungary.
Chinese EV makers are still in the early stages of expanding overseas and could run into regulatory and trade barriers, especially in markets where major automakers are based, such as the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea, Yang said. .
The EU launches a trade investigation into subsidies for Chinese electric car makers, and the US gives consumers a full $7,500 tax credit on electric cars if the car’s battery components come from China and several other countries. A bill was passed to prevent this from happening.
“The main concern for global automakers is that cheap Chinese EVs will flood into their home market and other major markets before they can produce EVs at a lower cost,” Yang said. Ta.
What is the origin of BYD name?
Wang Chuanfu, the company’s founder, said BYD (“Biyadi” in Chinese) was chosen primarily because it is a simple and unusual name, and because it has two features that will make it easier to register a new company in China. He said that it is a characteristic.
At the time, BYD was a secondary battery manufacturer founded by Mr. Wang in Shenzhen in 1995. BYD has expanded its business from batteries to other areas including consumer electronics. BYD launched an automobile subsidiary in 2003, initially producing gasoline-powered vehicles. By 2008, Wang had his eye on the electric vehicle market.
BYD has discontinued production of gasoline vehicles. The company also manufactures electric buses at its U.S. plant in Lancaster, California. The origin of the name is unknown, but the company changed the acronym into the slogan “Build Your Dreams.”
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Associated Press researcher Yu Bing in Beijing and video journalist Cassandra Allwood in London contributed.