Business & Economics
BYD Passes Tesla in 2025 Global Electric-Vehicle Sales
BYD sold about 2.26 million battery-electric cars in 2025, overtaking Tesla’s estimated 1.65 million and ending the U.S. firm’s run as annual EV volume leader.
Focusing Facts
- Total BYD deliveries hit 4.60 million vehicles in 2025 (up 7.7% YoY), including 1.05 million units exported.
- Tesla’s projected 2025 deliveries are ~1.6 million, down roughly 8 % year-on-year after a Q4 figure near 440,900.
- BYD’s domestic sales slid 18.3 % in December 2025, its sharpest monthly drop since early 2024.
Context
When Toyota surpassed Ford’s output in 1980, it signaled a tectonic shift in auto manufacturing power from the U.S. to Japan; BYD leapfrogging Tesla echoes that pivot, this time centering China in the battery-electric age. The event crystallizes two slow-burn trends: Beijing-backed scale in the EV supply chain (from cathode materials to shipping finance) and the commoditization of hardware that punishes firms, like Tesla, that pause product refreshes while rivals flood segments with cheaper models. Over a century-long horizon, leadership in EV volume also confers leverage in battery technology, critical-mineral sourcing, and grid services—foundations of the post-petroleum economy—potentially making 2025 as consequential as Detroit’s 1970s stumble amid the oil shocks. Still, the crown is fragile: subsidy roll-backs, trade barriers, and fast-moving tech (solid-state cells, full autonomy) could redraw the ranking again before the decade closes, just as Nokia’s 2007 dominance evaporated with the smartphone revolution.
Perspectives
Western mainstream business media
e.g., BBC, Yahoo Finance, RocketNews — Frame BYD’s expected takeover of Tesla as a watershed moment that underscores Elon Musk’s distractions and the aggressiveness of Chinese EV pricing. Plays up the ‘dethroning’ drama and Musk’s political baggage to hook global readers, potentially glossing over BYD’s own slowing growth that the same outlets mention only in passing.
Asian investor-oriented financial media
e.g., Mint, Free Malaysia Today, CNBC-TV18 — Acknowledge BYD’s numerical victory but stress that the celebration is ‘overshadowed’ by subsidy cuts, intense domestic competition and looming trade barriers that could hit earnings. Cautious, risk-centric tone caters to investors and can understate the symbolic impact of BYD passing Tesla while overemphasising worst-case headwinds to appear prudent.
Automotive trade and specialist outlets
e.g., Paul Tan’s Automotive News, Hindustan Times Auto — Focus on granular monthly sales data to show BYD’s weakest growth in five years and an 18% December drop even as it edges ahead of Tesla in annual EV sales. Industry-insider angle magnifies short-term production and pricing hiccups, which may downplay the strategic significance of BYD’s overall volume lead to maintain analytical credibility among gear-heads and suppliers.