China’s BYD is set to overtake Tesla as the world’s largest electric vehicle seller, highlighting how aggressive pricing and global expansion by Chinese manufacturers are reshaping the EV market as Tesla’s car sales slow.
China’s BYD is on track to overtake Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles.
BYD said this week that sales of its fully electric cars rose almost 28 per cent in 2025 to more than 2.25 million vehicles.
By comparison, analysts expect Tesla to report around 1.65 million deliveries for the year when it releases its final figures, putting the Chinese group firmly ahead on an annual basis for the first time.
The milestone underscores how quickly China’s domestic champions have scaled production and expanded overseas, while Tesla’s core car business faces growing pressure.
Much of BYD’s momentum comes from aggressive pricing and rapid product cycles.
The company – backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway – has leaned into vertical integration, controlling everything from batteries to power electronics, allowing it to undercut Western rivals while protecting margins.
In China, it has fended off competition from peers such as Geely and SAIC, while also pushing harder into Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Tesla, meanwhile, has endured a turbulent year, as vehicle sales slowed amid production changes to its best-selling Model Y and a consumer backlash linked to the political activities of chief executive Elon Musk.
Although the company cut prices and launched cheaper variants of its core models, analysts have said demand has not rebounded as hoped.
It is estimated Tesla’s fourth-quarter deliveries fell year-on-year, despite strong investor enthusiasm around its longer-term bets on robotaxis, humanoid robots and artificial intelligence.
That divergence highlights a growing split between market sentiment and showroom reality.
Investors have rewarded Tesla’s autonomous ambitions, but buyers seemingly remain cautious, particularly as rivals now bundle comparable driver-assistance features as standard.
China’s BYD poised to dethrone Tesla as biggest EV seller
