China’s BYD overtakes Tesla as world’s prime EV vendor – DW – 01/02/2026 | EUROtoday

Annual gross sales figures for 2025 present Tesla has misplaced its crown because the world’s prime electrical car vendor to Chinese rival BYD.

Elon Musk’s Tesla reported a bigger-than-expected fall in fourth-quarter deliveries on Friday and delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9 p.c from the earlier 12 months.

On Thursday, BYD stated it offered 2.26 million battery-powered vehicles in 2025.

Tesla got here beneath strain in 2025

Tesla stated it delivered 418,227 autos within the October–December quarter, down 15.6 p.c from 495,570 a 12 months earlier.

The droop adopted the tip of a $7,500 tax credit score within the United States in September, whereas Tesla additionally struggled with political backlash towards outspoken Musk and rising competitors from Chinese and European rivals.

The shift underscores rising competitors within the international EV market. China is the world’s largest marketplace for new vitality autos, together with EVs and plug-in hybrids.

Shenzhen-based BYD can also be seeking to broaden its presence abroad, regardless of going through hefty tariffs in some markets.

Investors nonetheless imagine in Musk

Tesla buyers have disregarded falling gross sales, focusing as an alternative on Musk’s shift towards robotaxis, vitality storage, and residential and manufacturing facility robots.

Musk additionally unveiled cheaper, stripped-down variations of the Model Y and Model 3 in October as a part of an effort to revive gross sales.

To help this imaginative and prescient, Tesla’s board granted him a large new pay bundle, accredited by shareholders in November.

Edited by: Kieran Burke