China’s BYD has overtaken Tesla to become the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, underscoring how Chinese EV brands are reshaping the global car market. The Shenzhen-based electric vehicle giant sold about 2.26 million battery-powered cars in 2025, a jump of nearly 28 percent from the previous year and enough to dethrone Tesla as the top global EV seller.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Tesla, long the dominant name in the electric vehicle industry, reported 2025 deliveries of around 1.6 million EVs, marking an eight to nine percent annual decline and its steepest drop on record. The slowdown deepened a slide that began in 2024, when Tesla posted its first yearly sales decline after years of rapid EV growth.
Analysts say intense competition from cheaper electric cars made by BYD and other Chinese EV manufacturers, along with a broader global EV price war, has eroded Tesla’s once-commanding lead. The company has also faced weakening demand in key markets such as Europe and the United States, where the expiration of a federal EV tax credit hurt sales of Tesla’s popular Model 3 and Model Y.
Tesla has responded by cutting prices and launching more affordable versions of its core electric vehicles, but those lower-cost EV models come with shorter driving range and fewer features. At the same time, CEO Elon Musk has increasingly shifted attention to future technologies such as robotaxis and AI-driven autonomous vehicles, even as Tesla’s core EV business faces rising pressure.
BYD, backed by years of Chinese government support for electric vehicles, has capitalised on its reputation for low-cost EVs to win market share at home and abroad. While the carmaker is locked in a fierce price war inside China, strong global demand for BYD electric cars and plug-in hybrids has helped it scale rapidly in Europe, Latin America and other overseas markets.
BYD’s rise highlights how China’s EV industry has moved to the centre of the global auto landscape, challenging Tesla and traditional Western carmakers in everything from compact city EVs to premium electric SUVs. With BYD now the world’s biggest EV seller and Tesla trying to revive growth amid tougher competition, the next phase of the electric vehicle race is likely to be defined by aggressive pricing, new technologies and faster expansion into emerging markets.