BYD surpassed Tesla to become the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer
The Chinese company BYD, at the end of 2025, became the world's largest manufacturer of battery electric vehicles, surpassing Tesla in sales volume. BYD sold 2.26 million fully electric vehicles, while Tesla reported 1.64 million deliveries, which is 9% less than the previous year.
What is known
Tesla's performance decline continues for the second consecutive year. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company delivered 418,227 vehicles — 16% less year-on-year and below analysts' expectations, who predicted about 441,000 units. The result was influenced by the cancellation of a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases in the US at the end of September. The company also faces reputational risks in several markets due to the public and political activities of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
BYD's pure electric vehicle sales in 2025 grew by 28%, despite high competition in the domestic Chinese market and regulatory pressure. In total, the company sold 4.55 million new energy vehicles, including plug-in hybrids. However, sales of hybrid models decreased by 8% to 2.29 million units.
Significant contributions to BYD's growth came from overseas markets. In the first 11 months of 2025, the company exported more than 917,000 vehicles, exceeding exports for the entire 2024. The United Kingdom became BYD's largest overseas market outside China: in September, sales there increased by 880% to reach 11,271 vehicles. Overall in Europe, the number of registrations in the same month increased almost fivefold to 24,963 units.
Despite the decline in electric vehicle sales, Tesla's shares ended 2025 with an 11% increase, closing at $450.27. The company's market capitalization amounted to about $1.4 trillion, which exceeds the combined value of the next 30 automakers. Investors associate such valuations with expectations for the development of robotaxi and humanoid robots, although commercially successful products in these areas have yet to be presented.
Source: Automotiveworld
