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Shenzen-based BYD has overtaken Elon Musk’s Tesla to become the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles in terms of sales.
Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
Warren Buffett-Match
BYD
sell more cars
Tesla
in the first six months of the year, but that doesn’t mean it sold the most battery electric vehicles.
First, the titles. Based on Shenzen
BYD
(code: 1211.Hong Kong) sold 641,000 “new energy” vehicles in the first half of 2022, the company said on July 3. That represents an increase of almost 315% in the same period last year. In June, BYD sold 134,036 new energy vehicles, up 162.7 percent year-on-year.
By comparison, Tesla (TSLA) delivered nearly 565,000 vehicles in the first half of the year. In the second quarter, Tesla delivered 254.695 automobiles, down 18% from first-quarter deliveries of 310,048 units. But June was the highest car production month in Tesla’s history, according to the company.
The key was the term BYD used — New Energy Vehicle, or NEV. In China, that includes plug-in hybrid vehicles with internal combustion engines as well as battery packs that can be charged with an external power source. BYD sells both plug-in hybrids as well as all battery powered vehicles. Tesla only sells battery-powered electric vehicles, which we often think of when we hear the term EV.
BYD sold 314,638 plug-in hybrid vehicles in the first half of the year, up 454% from the first half of 2021. BYD sold 323,519 battery electric vehicles in the first half of 2022, an increase of 246% year-on-year. , while Tesla sold 564,753. Tesla still has the edge in battery-only cars, but BYD’s growth is accelerating.
Tesla stock fell about 2.9% in early trading, lagging behind the rest of the world
and
Nasdaq Composite,
down 1.9% and 0.9% respectively. BYD shares closed down 0.7% in overseas trading.
BYD’s Hong Kong-traded shares are up more than 17% this year. Entering Monday’s trading session, Tesla shares were down about 35%.
Write to Lina Saigol at lina.saigol@dowjones.com