For the first time, Chinese Byd sells more electric than Tesla in Europe, driven by low prices and wide variety of models
BYD sold more electric vehicles in Europe than Tesla last month, for the first time, marking a historic achievement for the efforts of the Chinese expansion company in international markets. According to data from Jato Dynamics, a company that specializes in automotive data intelligence, BYD registered 7,231 totally electric cars in Europe last month, against 7,165 registered by Tesla. Tesla sales fell 49% over the previous year, while BYD increased by 169%.
Sales of the Chinese company, including plugable hybrid models, fired 359% compared to the previous year.
This aggressive BYD expansion in Europe occurs at a time when Tesla sales are falling due to the limited and aged portfolio of product and negative reaction to Elon Musk’s political interventions in regional affairs.
“This is a decisive moment for the European automotive market, especially when it is considered that Tesla led the European battery vehicle market for years, while BYD only officially started its operations outside Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022,” Felipe Munoz, a global analyst at Jet Dynamics.
Tesla sales continue to fall into important European markets, despite the recent update of its key model, Model Y. Musk has also announced that it is reducing its participation in government activities in the United States to focus on car manufacturer management after the company’s profits from the fourth quarter of 2020.
Tesla’s fall in Europe happens at the same time as companies such as Renault and Stellantis, in addition to other brands, have aggressively launched new models of more affordable electric vehicles to comply with the most rigid European Union emissions regulations that came into force this year.
In April, Renault, škoda, Volkswagen, Audi and BMW also sold more pure electric cars than Tesla.
Globally, BYD has already surpassed Tesla and has become the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles, driven by the strong demand in its domestic market. However, the company is relatively new in Europe, and its rapid entry into foreign markets has generated concern among western automakers.
BYD and other Chinese companies have expanded its product line in Europe, increasing plugable hybrid vehicle sales that are not subject to EU tariffs of up to 45% over electric vehicles from China.
According to Jato, electric vehicle records made by Chinese automakers rose 59% in Europe in April compared to the previous year, reaching 15,300 units, while plugable hybrids increased by eight times, reaching 9,649 units.
In recent years, BYD has launched eight models in more than 30 European countries, including compact Hatchback Seagull, whose price can be as low as € 22,990, practically without direct competitors in this segment.
“We have a mission: bring all the high technology and innovation of BYD to as many customers as possible in the world,” said Jolin Zhang, assistant managing director of Byd Europa, during the Future of the Car Summit event of the Financial Times last week.
She added that BYD is offering a “complete spectrum” of products, pure electric vehicles to plugable hybrids to meet “various consumer profiles” on the continent.
The company plans to produce locally through factories in Hungary and Turkey to circumvent tariffs, but some of these ambitions are involved in geopolitical tensions.
The European Commission is investigating whether China granted unjust subsidies to the first BYD factory in Europe, located in Hungary, the Financial Times reported.
The company’s plan to build a factory in Mexico also faces obstacles to obtain approval by Chinese authorities, in the face of concerns that their advanced intelligent car technology could potentially leak for the United States.
With information from Financial Times*
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/05/22/byd-ultrapassa-tesla-e-vira-nova-lider-eletrica-na-europa/
