BYD Claims the Electric Vehicle Crown, Overtakes Tesla for the First Time

In 2025, BYD delivered an impressive 2.26 million battery electric vehicles worldwide, leaving its American rival, Tesla, in the dust. The Chinese company ultimately overtook Tesla for the first time in a full calendar year.

Sales of their battery electric vehicles increased by nearly 28% in 2025, owing to smash hits such as the Seal sedan and Atto 3 crossover, which appealed to buyers both domestically and internationally, particularly outside China. Exports increased by more than 150%, a truly astonishing increase, and overseas deliveries surpassed one million units for the year. At Tesla, deliveries fell about 9% from the previous year, marking the second consecutive year of drop. The Model Y and Model 3 continued to sell well, but overall figures fell.

Several reasons appear to have contributed to Tesla’s slower pace. First, a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicle buyers in the United States expired on September 30, 2025, thus reducing demand in the last months of the year because many consumers had rushed their purchases ahead to qualify before the deadline. To add insult to injury, fourth-quarter deliveries fell 16% from the same period in 2024. In China, Tesla faces fierce competition from local manufacturers that can offer comparable range and features at lower pricing.

BYD, on the other hand, has been quietly increasing its advantages over the years. Since its inception as a battery manufacturer in 1995, the company has gained control of its supply chain while remaining cost-conscious. With a focus on vertical integration, BYD has been able to maintain competitive pricing without breaking the bank. Factories have operated at high levels of efficiency, producing automobiles at a rapid pace.

BYD has also benefited from a diverse model lineup. Buyers can select from a tiny hatchback, a family sedan, or a bigger SUV, all of which offer long range and fast charging. To top it off, plug-in hybrids provided purchasers with even more alternatives, though pure electric sales pushed it ahead of Tesla. BYD’s overseas growth surged as the business expanded into markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and portions of Europe that embraced low-cost Chinese electric vehicles. Tariffs may have kept it out of the US market for the time being, but sales overseas compensated for that.

Tesla attempted to respond with some update such as introducing lower-priced versions of the Model 3 and Model Y arrived late in the year, a bit of a Hail Mary pass aimed at attracting cost-conscious buyers, but the timing was a little off. Despite all of the obstacles BYD encountered as the year came to a close, the company’s growth slowed, albeit not much. Intense price rivalry in China pushed it to tighten its margins, and sales declined in December, but overall, volume grew enough to secure the top rank.
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