The Chinese car manufacturer BYD overtook the American Tesla, making it the largest manufacturer of electric cars in the world in the last quarter of last year.
In the period from October to December, BYD sold a record number of cars, including 525,409 electric cars. Tesla sold 484,507 cars in the mentioned period, which is also a record quarterly sale for this manufacturer.
However, when it comes to sales throughout last year, BYD sold 1.57 million electric cars, while Tesla sold 1.8 million electric cars. BYD’s sales growth in 2023 compared to 2022 was 73 percent. In addition, the Chinese manufacturer sold 1.44 million hybrid cars last year.
The difference in the number of sold electric cars in favor of Tesla has decreased significantly. That difference amounted to 230,000 cars in 2023, while the year before it was 400,000.
BYD, whose shareholder is American billionaire Warren Buffet, is a symbol of China’s growing electric vehicle industry.
As reported by CNN, China is making rapid progress in its transition to electric vehicles thanks to strong government support.
Because of this, the alarms of European competitors such as Volkswagen and Renault went off.
European Union authorities have launched an investigation into state subsidies for Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers.
