Tesla and BYD, the two largest EV manufacturers in the world, have both released their sales report for 2023. Across the entire year, Tesla delivered a total of 1,808,581 fully-electric vehicles, compared to BYD’s 1,574,822 (out of 3,012,916 total passenger vehicles sold), making the former the best-selling fully-electric EV brand in the world.
The American EV maker’s numbers were propped up by an impressive sales performance in the fourth quarter of 2023, where it sold 484,507 vehicles in total. Despite its record figures, though, BYD has actually outsold Tesla in the final quarter of the year, with 526,409 fully-electric vehicles delivered to new customers, marking the first time the Chinese marque has overtaken Tesla in EV volume.
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BYD’s 2023 EV sales figure represents an incredible year-on-year growth of 72.8%, compared to the still-impressive 38% increase from Tesla. Notably, BYD’s battery EV sales have also accounted for 52.3% of the marque’s total passenger car sales, signalling at the shift of preference in vehicle powertrains in the global market.
Speaking of global market, BYD’s export figures have also risen to 242,766 new-energy vehicles (NEV) sold outside of China in 2023, translating to a staggering year-on-year increase of 334%. In just one year, BYD’s exports have surpassed the company cumulative overseas sales for nearly two decades.
As for Tesla, the company says that the Model 3 and Model Y have accounted for some 96.2% of the company’s global sales in 2023, although it provided no further breakdown on the figures.
