BYD, Surpassing Tesla! World's Number One
According to media reports, Chinese automaker BYD is projected to surpass Tesla in pure electric vehicle sales by 2025, becoming the world leader. Data released by BYD on January 1 shows its new pure electric vehicle sales reached 2.25 million units in 2025, marking a 28% year-on-year increase. Tesla's annual deliveries totaled 1.64 million units, down 8.6% year-on-year. On the evening of January 2, Tesla announced fourth-quarter deliveries of 418,227 vehicles, a 16% year-on-year decline, placing it significantly behind China's BYD in the global electric vehicle manufacturer rankings.
Fourth-quarter total deliveries: 418,227 units
Fourth-quarter total production: 434,358 units
Full-year 2025 total deliveries: 1.64 million units
Full-year 2025 total production: 1.65 million units
Tesla announced on Friday that its fourth-quarter deliveries fell 16% to 418,227 vehicles, falling short of both analyst expectations and the company's own targets.
In contrast, BYD achieved growth in pure electric vehicle sales both quarterly and annually, with full-year deliveries nearing 2.26 million units, compared to Tesla's 1.64 million.
Musk successfully diverted attention from Tesla's sales decline by heavily promoting progress in its long-term commitment to developing a self-driving taxi service. Although the company launched autonomous driving tests at year-end, consumer access to the service remains extremely limited: only a small number of vehicles are available for hailing in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area, and safety supervisors still occupy the front seats.
Wall Street is also growing increasingly skeptical about Tesla's sales outlook for 2026. Just two years ago, analysts projected Tesla's deliveries would exceed 3 million units; however, the current market consensus has been significantly revised downward to approximately 1.8 million units.
Additionally, although Tesla does not break down its delivery data by region, figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) indicate that Tesla's market share in Europe declined in 2025.
In the first 11 months of 2025, Tesla's new vehicle registrations in Europe fell by 39%, while BYD's registrations in Europe surged by 240%. Overall, Europe showed greater acceptance of pure electric vehicles in 2025, with pure electric vehicles accounting for approximately 16% of all new vehicle sales in the region.
BYD's total new vehicle sales for 2025 are projected to reach 4.6 million units, representing an approximately 8% year-on-year increase. This includes 2.25 million pure electric vehicles and 2.28 million plug-in hybrid vehicles.