BYD Surpasses Tesla in Sales: A New Era for Electric Vehicles

In 2024, BYD’s sales exceeded $100 billion, surpassing Tesla led by Elon Musk. The Chinese automotive giant impressed consumers with a range of electric and hybrid vehicles featuring cutting-edge technology. Headquartered in Shenzhen, BYD reported revenue of 777 billion yuan ($107 billion) for the 12 months ending December 31, up 29% according to a filing made late Monday (March 24, 2025), exceeding estimates of 766 billion yuan. Tesla’s revenue for 2024 was $97.7 billion. BYD’s net profits increased by 34% to 40.3 billion yuan, surpassing analysts’ expectations of 39.5 billion yuan. During an analyst briefing yesterday Tuesday (March 25, 2025) in Hong Kong, Chairman and founder Wang Chuanfu refined the company’s sales target for 2025, stating that BYD aims to sell approximately 5.5 million vehicles this year, including 800,000 units overseas. BYD shares fell as much as 4.1% in Tuesday trading in Hong Kong. Still, the stock has risen 46% this year and hit a record high last week. In Q4 2024, BYD reported a 73% year-on-year increase in net profits at 15 billion yuan on sales of 275 billion yuan. Analysts from Citibank and Morgan Stanley noted that BYD’s performance in the final quarter met expectations. “This was a good set of results with very high-quality earnings,” said Citi analyst Jeff Chung. BYD quickly rose to the top of China’s car market—the largest and most competitive globally for electric vehicles. This year alone, BYD introduced a new system allowing electric cars to charge for 400 kilometers in just five minutes and advanced driver-assistance technology even in its basic models. While BYD sells roughly the same number of EVs as Tesla—1.76 million in 2024 versus 1.79 million—when all other hybrid passenger car sales are included, the number is significantly higher. BYD’s total deliveries last year totaled 4.27 million, nearly matching Ford. BYD started 2025 strongly, with first-quarter sales increasing 93% year-over-year to 623,300 units. Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Investment Management LLC and long-time Tesla bull, stated that the American automaker remains highly competitive compared to BYD and expressed excitement about the upcoming launch of a low-cost model. Despite Tesla leading in market valuation, valued at around $800 billion despite a 38% year-to-date share price drop, BYD’s market capitalization is closer to $157 billion. While Tesla generates more absolute profits—its net profits last year were $7.6 billion—it struggles in China where deliveries have declined over the past five months. Meanwhile, BYD continues to gain traction, holding nearly a 15% market share in China not only for new energy vehicles but for all passenger cars. Although BYD doesn’t sell passenger cars in the U.S. due to punitive tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles, it has made significant inroads into European markets, parts of Asia like Singapore and Thailand, and Australia.