China's BYD Overtakes Tesla as Largest Seller of Electric Vehicles

It seems that China's BYD has unofficially taken the title of the largest seller of all-battery electric vehicles in the world, surpassing Tesla. BYD announced impressive fourth-quarter deliveries of approximately 526,000 all-electric vehicles, compared to Tesla's 435,000 units delivered in the same period.

BYD's success can be attributed to its focus on affordability. With an average selling price below $30,000, BYD's vehicles are significantly cheaper than Tesla's, which still average over $40,000 despite recent price cuts. This strategy has allowed BYD to outsell Tesla for the first time back in the second quarter of 2022 and continue its pursuit of becoming the leading seller of battery electric vehicles.

Although Tesla is expected to retain its sales crown for all of 2023, delivering around 1.8 million units compared to BYD's 1.6 million, it is clear that BYD is making significant strides in the industry. In fact, BYD achieved a major milestone by delivering over 3 million passenger cars in total this past year.

Despite losing the sales battle to BYD, Tesla still maintains a significant lead in market capitalization. While Tesla's stock is valued at approximately $800 billion, BYD shares are valued at around $80 billion.

In terms of stock performance, BYD's U.S.-listed ADRs rose by about 8% in 2023, while Tesla's stock experienced a remarkable 102% increase after a 65% decline in 2022. Comparatively, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 recorded gains of roughly 43% and 24%, respectively.

Although Tesla faced a drop in its stock value in 2022 for only the second time since its IPO in 2010, the company had a remarkable year in 2020 with a staggering 740% increase in shares. This was largely attributed to the success of the Model Y, which is on track to become the best-selling car globally by the end of 2023.

BYD's impressive growth serves as a testament to the potential success of Tesla's next model, which is expected to be a lower-priced battery electric vehicle. However, the exact timeline for its release remains unknown.