BYD sales top Tesla as tech focus wins over Chinese drivers

The US carmaker is worth about $800bn (€737.9bn) despite a share-price rout that’s seen the stock plunge 38% this year

BYD doesn’t sell passenger cars in the US yet due to punitive tariffs on made-in-China automobiles, but it’s made big inroads into markets in Europe, places in Asia like Singapore and Thailand, as well as Australia. File picture

BYD’s sales last year surpassed the €92bn mark, leapfrogging Elon Musk’s Tesla on revenue, as the Chinese auto giant wows consumers with a range of electric and hybrid cars packed with high-tech features.

Shenzhen-based BYD reported revenue of 777 billion yuan (€98.7bn) last year, up 29%, according to a filing late Monday, beating estimates for 766 billion yuan. Tesla’s 2024 revenue was $97.7bn (€90.1bn). The Chinese EV maker’s net income rose 34% year-on-year to 40.3 billion yuan, beating analyst estimates for 39.5 billion yuan.