Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) giant BYD is on track to beat American pioneer Tesla in battery electric vehicle sales this year, according to a Counterpoint Research report.
BYD set to snatch Tesla’s BEV crown in 2024
Market researcher Counterpoint Research projects BYD to overtake the Musk-led industry leader in 2024 as the quarterly gap between them narrows.
“BYD’s BEV market share is set to surge in 2024, the year it is expected to overtake Tesla in BEV sales. This shift underscores the dynamic nature of the global EV market.”
Counterpoint Research said in a July 2 report
While Tesla remains at the top of the global rankings as of Q2 2024, its gap with BYD continues to narrow dramatically.
For context, Tesla’s BEV deliveries reached a total of 443,956 units in Q2 2024. This figure is only 17,917 vehicles higher than BYD’s passenger BEV sales of 426,039 units in the same period.
Considering that Tesla only produces BEVs, BYD’s cumulative NEV sales are over twofold higher than Tesla’s figures.
Considering this, it will no longer be surprising if BYD snatches the BEV crown from the Musk-led electric automaker.
BYD’s EV push
BYD has enjoyed significant BEV and PHEV sales growth over the past few years, enabling it to lead the global NEV industry.
In hindsight, BYD halted the production and sales of its internal combustion engine-powered vehicles in March 2022. Since then, it focused on producing new energy vehicles, including battery-electrics and plug-in hybrids.
In Q4 2024, BYD successfully beat Tesla for the first time with its all-electric vehicle sales of 526,409 units (vs 484,507). However, the American leader reclaimed its crown in Q1 2024 with 386,810 unit sales. In comparison, BYD only sold 386,810 units.
Global BEV sales forecast
Counterpoint also indicated in its July 2 report that global battery-electric vehicle sales will hit 10 million units in 2024.
If this projection transpires, it will undoubtedly mark a major milestone in the global passenger vehicle market’s transition to electric vehicles.
China remains the leader in the global BEV industry. Counterpoint expects the country’s BEV sales to be fourfold higher than North America’s this year. The report further asserts that China will sustain an over 50% share of the global BEV sales by 2027. By 2030, China is expected to sell more BEVs than North America and Europe combined.
According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), China’s passenger NEV sales reached a total of 7.75 million units last year. Of that total, 5.15 million were BEVs, and 2.6 million were PHEVs.
In the first five months of 2024, Chinese passenger NEV sales increased 34.46% YoY to about 3.25 million units. BEVs accounted for 1.93 million units, while PHEVs contributed 1.32 million units.
It remains to be seen if BYD can actually beat Tesla’s BEV sales this year. In the EU, BYD will face an additional provisional tariff of 17.4% on top of the current 10% rate starting July 4, 2024. In the US, tariffs on China-made EVs increased from 25% to 100%. However, BYD currently has no presence in the US. Nonetheless, these regulatory hurdles will undoubtedly hurt BYD’s global BEV sales in the coming years.
