It’s not quite official, but China’s
BYD
is now the largest seller of all-battery electric vehicles on the planet, toppling
Tesla
off the perch it held since introducing the Model S luxury sedan back in 2012.
Monday, BYD announced fourth-quarter deliveries of about 526,000 all-electric vehicles, up from about 432,000 delivered in the third quarter of 2023.
Tesla
delivered 435,000 units in the third quarter, edging out BYD. It’s only expected to deliver 480,000 units in the fourth quarter. A 46,000-unit beat would be unprecedented. BYD is now larger.
BYD makes both battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, as well as plug-in hybrids. BYD sold more cars than Tesla for the first time back in the second quarter of 2022. It’s been chasing Tesla for the crown of largest BEV seller since then.
BYD did it by going affordable. Its vehicles sell for below $30,000 a unit on average. Tesla vehicles still average north of $40,000, even after all the price cuts of 2023.
Tesla will likely retain the crown for all of 2023. Tesla should deliver some 1.8 million units. BYD delivered about 1.6 million BEVs. Overall, BYD delivered more than 3 million passenger cars for the first time this past year.
Tesla still beats BYD by leaps and bounds in another category: Market capitalization. Tesla stock is worth roughly $800 billion. BYD shares are worth some $80 billion, according to FactSet.
BYD’s U.S.-listed ADRs rose about 8% in 2023. Tesla stock rose 102% after falling 65% in 2022. The
Nasdaq Composite
and
S&P 500
added roughly 43% and 24%, respectively.
For Tesla stock, the drop in 2022 was only the second time Tesla stock has fallen in a calendar year since the company’s 2010 IPO. Shares gained an incredible 740% in 2020. That was the year Tesla started selling the Model Y which should end 2023 as the best-selling car on the planet.
The Model Y has been a huge hit. BYD’s growth shows that Tesla’s next model should be a lower-priced BEV. That’s what the company has planned, but when it will hit roads is still a mystery.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
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