Chinese automaker BYD has outsold rival Tesla (TSLA) for the second straight year, becoming the world’s top electric vehicle manufacturer in the process.
BYD has announced that it produced and sold more than three million electric vehicles in 2023. While Tesla has yet to release its full-year figures, the U.S. automaker made 1.35 million electric cars during the first three quarters of last year.
However, even though it surpassed the three million mark, BYD’s annual production missed analyst expectations for 3.05 million vehicles.
Also, BYD produced 1.6 million fully electric vehicles in 2023. The other 1.4 million vehicles were gas-electric hybrids.
Still, the 1.6 million purely electric vehicles produced and sold by BYD is expected to be enough to beat Tesla’s 2023 numbers.
BYD has benefited from the fact that its home market of China is the world’s largest market for electric vehicles. China accounted for one-fifth of Tesla’s sales in the quarter ended Sept. 30.
BYD is now pushing into foreign markets, notably Europe.
The company’s overseas sales in 2023 surpassed 240,000. BYD announced in December plans to build a new production facility in Hungary.
The Chinese automaker currently sells five electric vehicle models in Europe and plans to launch three more across the continent over the next 12 months.
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