This Chinese Car Company Has Trumped Tesla In EV Sales

There's a quiet shift happening in the EV world, and it's coming from China. A few years ago, would you have thought that any brand could actually beat Tesla at the EV game? But that's exactly what BYD has managed to do — the same car brand that Elon Musk once laughed at. Surprisingly, in the first quarter of 2025, the Chinese carmaker outsold Tesla and became the world's biggest seller of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). BYD sold 416,388 units during that period, while Tesla came in behind with 336,000. So, was this just a one-time fluke? Well, it doesn't seem like it. BYD's total vehicle sales (including hybrids) nearly hit 1 million in Q1 alone, and that kind of growth doesn't happen by accident.

It's clear that BYD is now pulling ahead in volume and revenue. If we go back to 2024, BYD's revenue hit $101.1 billion, passing Tesla's $97.7 billion for the first time. The streak seems to be continuing, and from January to April 2025, BYD sold 1.38 million new energy vehicles globally — a 47% year-over-year jump, showing just how fast it's scaling up. Plus, if you throw in PHEVs, better known as plug-in hybrids, BYD's overall dominance looks even stronger. That's no small feat, and certainly something Tesla can't ignore. There's also strong government backing for BYD, as well as the support of Warren Buffett.

What we are seeing now is the result of years of planning — not just by the company, but by China as a whole. Most of the world was still warming up to the idea of electric vehicles, but China set big goals and started working toward them. And BYD was right there, backed by government subsidies and smart early bets. To put things in perspective, China actually hit its 2025 EV sales target back in 2022. That's three years ahead of schedule.

BYD had the perfect environment to grow: a strong local market, low-cost manufacturing, and access to all the right parts. Meanwhile, companies like Tesla were cutting prices just to keep up. In early 2025, Tesla's global deliveries dropped by 13%, and its net income fell by 71%, showing how tight the competition has become. But BYD didn't slow down. If anything, it used that moment to start looking beyond its home turf.

Everything BYD is doing is starting to pay off. Take the U.K., for example. Not exactly BYD's home ground, but in May 2025, it actually outsold Tesla there. That's not a small win. Registrations for BYD cars jumped to 3,025 units, compared to Tesla's 2,016, showing how quickly BYD is gaining ground in global markets. Tesla had earlier blamed similar dips on production shifts for the Model Y refresh, but the continued slump in Tesla sales — and BYD's surge — suggests buyers are clearly finding something they like in the Chinese rival.

Also, it's not about one market. BYD announced back in 2023 that it is building its first passenger car plant in Europe — in Hungary, to be specific. That's a clear signal that BYD is going all in. The brand has said it wants half of its total sales to come from outside China by the end of the decade. And with its combination of smart pricing, solid tech, and sharp design, it's making serious progress. If Tesla isn't watching closely, it might just get left behind.