Tesla outsold BYD in Q1 to regain world’s largest EV seller title

Tesla has once again outpaced Chinese automotive giant BYD in quarterly sales, after China’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker briefly outsold the U.S. company in Q4.

BYD and Tesla both reported their first-quarter delivery numbers on Tuesday (BYD reported estimates), with both automakers feeling the effects of a slight slowdown in global EV markets. Tesla delivered 386,810 vehicles in Q1, while BYD delivered approximately 300,114 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).

The news also means that Tesla regained the title of the world’s largest BEV seller, after holding it for most of last year, and briefly being outpaced by BYD in Q4 for the first time.

BYD had its slowest profit growth in two years in Q4

For Tesla, the deliveries marked an 8.5 percent decline year over year, down from 422,875 vehicles delivered in Q1 2023, and a roughly 20.2 percent drop from Q4. BYD also fell 43 percent from its record quarterly high of 526,409 BEV units sold in Q4, though it also saw BEV sales increase 36 percent from the first quarter of 2023.

Notably, China remains an important market for Tesla, though BYD doesn’t yet sell vehicles in the U.S. and has said it doesn’t plan to enter the market anytime soon. Following widespread reports of BYD supposedly becoming the world’s largest BEV seller in Q4, some pointed out Tesla’s operation of fewer factories, its larger net profit levels, and its substantially lower number of workers.

In addition, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the reports, pointing to Tesla’s status as much more than just an automotive company.

Tesla is an AI/robotics company that appears to many to be a car company

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2024

That particular point feels especially relevant as Tesla has officially changed the “beta” moniker Full Self-Driving (FSD), instead dubbing the system “FSD (Supervised)” as it rolls out the highly anticipated v12, free trials, and mandatory FSD demos on delivery.

Also, it’s worth noting that Tesla and BYD have both been vocal about competition being necessary to help achieve widespread BEV adoption. In February, BYD Vice President Stella Li called Tesla a “partner” in electrification, noting that the BEV transition would not be happening so quickly without the U.S. automaker.

Without naming names, Musk last year said that Chinese automakers were “highly competitive these days,” and he has consistently pointed to the market as being deserving of praise.

Plus, many at Tesla and in the larger Tesla community have regularly pointed out over the years that the U.S. BEV maker can’t electrify the entire global market on its own, and that the whole auto industry must work together to help make transportation more sustainable.

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