BYD sold more battery electric vehicles (BEVs) than market leader Tesla in Europe for the first time last month, as the Chinese carmaker continued to make inroads despite hefty tariffs on cars imported from the mainland.
Shenzhen-based BYD, which also makes plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), sold 7,231 BEVs in April, a year-on-year increase of 169 per cent, according to data compiled by market research firm Jato Dynamics from 28 countries in Europe. Tesla’s sales fell 49 per cent to 7,165 units in the same period.
“Although the difference between the two brands’ monthly sales totals may be small, the implications are enormous,” said Felipe Munoz, a global analyst at Jato Dynamics, on Thursday. “This is a watershed moment for Europe’s car market, particularly when you consider that Tesla has led the European BEV market for years, while BYD only officially began operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022.”
Tesla’s sales fell despite steady demand in Europe last month. BEVs accounted for 17 per cent of the 1.1 million new cars registered on the continent in April, compared with 13.4 per cent a year earlier, while PHEVs accounted for 9 per cent of sales, up from 6.9 per cent a year earlier, according to Jato Dynamics.
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How Chinese companies have pulled ahead of Tesla in the electric vehicle race
How Chinese companies have pulled ahead of Tesla in the electric vehicle race
Chinese carmakers were behind much of that growth, according to the research firm. Despite huge tariffs imposed by the European Union (EU), Chinese firms’ BEV sales jumped 59 per cent year on year in April to nearly 15,300 units, while carmakers from Europe, Japan, South Korea and the US posted a 26 per cent increase in sales, it added.
