BYD Catching Up to Tesla in Global EV Sales

BYD, China's largest seller of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), is making significant strides towards overtaking Tesla as the world leader in EV sales. In July alone, BYD delivered an impressive 261,105 new energy vehicles, which include both plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles. Of this total, approximately 134,800 units were BEVs, a significant increase from the 81,000 BEVs sold in July 2022.

Over the past three months, BYD has delivered a total of approximately 383,000 BEVs. In comparison, Tesla reported delivering around 466,000 BEVs in the second quarter. These numbers indicate that BYD's quarterly deliveries already make up more than 80% of Tesla's volume.

Based on their current growth rates, BYD is on track to potentially surpass Tesla in the coming quarters. However, this is not a guarantee, as it becomes increasingly challenging to maintain rapid growth as numbers get larger. It is worth noting that Tesla has been known to prioritize volume growth over profit margins by aggressively cutting prices worldwide for its EVs earlier this year.

While being number one or number two may seem like a mere bragging right, it does serve as a valuable measure of EV dominance. Additionally, it should be considered that the vehicle lineups of BYD and Tesla are not identical. Tesla tends to sell higher-priced cars and operates in more global markets. Consequently, Tesla is not only more profitable than BYD but also holds a considerably larger market capitalization of approximately $820 billion compared to BYD's market cap of roughly $110 billion.

The performance of both BYD and Tesla highlights the trend of the strong getting stronger in the EV market segment. Together, these two companies have delivered nearly 1.6 million EVs over the past six months, reflecting a remarkable 70% year-over-year growth. In contrast, XPeng and NIO, two smaller EV manufacturers, have experienced a slight decline of approximately 4% year over year, delivering only about 114,000 EVs during the same period.

Although BYD's shares experienced a slight decline of about 0.9% in overseas trading, and its U.S.-listed ADRs fell 1.3% during Monday's trading session, it is important to note that the overall market experienced a similar downward trend. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both fell by 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. In comparison, Tesla's stock dropped by 2.4%.

In conclusion, BYD's continuous growth in global EV sales positions the company as a formidable competitor to Tesla's long-standing dominance. With impressive delivery numbers in recent months, BYD is steadily closing the gap. However, Tesla's larger market capitalization, profitability, and broader market presence underscore the challenges that BYD faces in its pursuit of the top spot.