Chinese electric automaker BYD continues to advance in the global electric vehicle market, even surpassing Tesla’s sales in the fourth quarter of 2023. Despite that, Vice President Stella Li contends that the American pioneer remains the “market leader” who significantly accelerated the electric vehicle shift.
BYD claims to have a “high respect” for Tesla
In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance, BYD Vice President Stella Li expressed the Chinese giant’s admiration towards the Musk-led electric vehicle automaker.
“We have a high respect for Tesla. They’re a market leader. They’ve given a great education to the market. Without them, I think the global EV market could not [advance] so rapidly. I think they are a partner … pushing the whole auto industry to transition to the future electric car.”
BYD Vice President Stella Li
These remarks further improve the relationship between the two major players, considering Tesla Chief Elon Musk’s insults to its Chinese rival. In a 2021 interview with Bloomberg, the Tesla boss laughed at BYD when asked about the competition it may bring. He even advised BYD to be more wary of its survival in its home market, China.
In late May 2023, the American billionaire withdrew its original perception of BYD, saying their offerings are “highly competitive these days.”
BYD’s progress from being a cheap car manufacturer to innovative EV brand
BYD has a reputation as a cheap car maker in China, largely aided by major government subsidies and tax breaks. As American legacy automaker Ford’s Chief Jim Farley noted, China had a “20% to 30%” cost advantage. He even cited BYD’s production of its base model, Seagull, saying that the model only spent $9,000 to $11,000 in materials.
In response, VP Li said that BYD has continuously advanced its electric vehicle technology to compete even with its Western rivals regarding innovation. True enough, its electric vehicle portfolio currently ranges from a $10,000 mass-market model to a $233,000 ultra-premium supercar.
“In China, the message is strong. If you are not investing in electric cars, you are out. You will die. You’ll have no future.”
BYD Vice President Stella Li
BYD became the top-selling electric automaker last year
BYD successfully beat Tesla in global electric vehicle sales in the last quarter of 2023. The Chinese giant sold a total of 526,409 battery-powered cars, a significant edge over Tesla’s 484,507 sales.
In FY 2023, the Chinese electric automaker produced more than 3 million new energy vehicles (NEVs), including plug-in hybrids. On the other hand, Tesla only reported 1.84 million BEVs produced in the same period.
Nonetheless, Tesla remains the market leader in the all-electric vehicle segment, given that BEV production only accounted for 1.6 million units in BYD’s overall NEV volume last year.
It is indeed nice to see how BYD and Tesla’s relationship improved amid the advancing adoption of electric vehicles, highlighting the higher need to beat ICE-powered vehicles in the automotive industry rather than focusing on beating each other.
