BYD overtakes Tesla as world’s top EV seller in 2025
In 2011, Tesla CEO Elon Musk called the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD a competitor. But about 14 years later, BYD has beaten the American electric car pioneer at its own game.
The Chinese automotive giant has surpassed Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles, according to 2025 data released this week by the two rivals, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.
BYD announced on Thursday that it sold 2.26 million electric vehicles, nearly 28% more than in 2024. Meanwhile, Tesla reported a second consecutive year of declining sales: deliveries fell 8.6% to just 1.6 million, marking the largest annual drop in the company’s history, CNN reports.
BYD managed to overtake Tesla even though its electric vehicles are not available for purchase in the U.S., while China is Tesla’s second-largest market.
In the fourth quarter, Tesla’s sales reached around 418,000, 15.6% lower than a year earlier and a sharper decline from the record global deliveries in the third quarter, when American buyers rushed to purchase electric vehicles before a $7,500 tax credit expired on October 1.
As reported by CE Report, unlike other car manufacturers, Tesla does not report its sales by market, offering only global figures, but the U.S. market accounts for about half of its revenue, according to company reports. Reports from other automakers on Monday are also expected to show weak U.S. electric vehicle sales in the final three months of 2025.
